Dear Editor,
This letter is about the lack of trust the public has towards the school board and the district, and some of the reasons why.
To begin with, administrators and board members routinely disregard requests for public documents, under the California Public Records Act (PRA). Much of what is requested is limited and reasonable. However, months go by with no response.
How can we trust them if this is how the public is treated? What are they hiding?
As an example of this, multiple members of the community, have repeatedly requested a copy of the Friday letter/memo sent to all members of the board, dated October 13, 2023. This is a public record that any of us have a right to request. But the district refuses to release it.
What is in this memo that it cannot be released to the public? Why is the district/board being so secretive?
In a second example, the former chief business officer told the community budget advisory committee (CBAC), that Measure K money was not spent on New Earth. However, the district’s own accounting records show that Measure K money was, in fact, spent on New Earth.
Why did the chief of finance for the district lie to CBAC? One more betrayal of public trust.
The final example is the board’s refusal to acknowledge that at least 1000 non-resident students are attending school in CCUSD using other people’s Culver City addresses. This number was verified using census data.
As Mr. Tran, the former superintendent, pointed out, state revenue is attached to every student. That means that CCUSD is effectively stealing money from other districts by allowing those 1000 students to remain here. And the board intends to keep it that way.
Community members, teachers and staff have spoken up repeatedly about a lack of trust in the school board. It is easy to see why.
Sincerely,
Thomas Sutherland
