Latest news with #Proposition28
CBS News
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Lawmaker calls for state audit of LAUSD after fraud lawsuit from former superintendent
A Southern California lawmaker is calling for a state audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District after a lawsuit claims it defrauded taxpayers of millions of dollars in funding. "I've never called for a state audit for anything else before," Assemblyman Isaac Bryan said. "Many of my colleagues have not either ... It's a major move. It's one that if the state auditor decides to follow through on our request, the district is going to have to produce the necessary documents to show that they are in compliance." The district's former superintendent is spearheading the lawsuit. Austin Beutner and Hollywood's biggest stars helped get nearly a billion dollars set aside specifically for new art teachers and classes, through Proposition 28. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said he leaned on the law's intent and used Prop 28 funds to cover existing and new staff. LAUSD said it followed state guidelines and the situation is just a "misunderstanding of the law. "It is our sincere hope to expedite a resolution to this matter that brings clarity to this matter, continues to protect and expand arts education for our students, and avoids legal costs to our publicly funded institution," the district said in a statement. More than two years ago, artists and educators across California came together to reverse declining arts education through a new state law. The change would come from Prop 28, which passed overwhelmingly across California, with 70% of LA County in favor of it. Now, there is nearly $1 billion in additional art funding for all schools, with a larger portion promised to underserved communities and a full 80% specifically earmarked to hire new art teachers. However, after LAUSD got the largest arts funding check in the state, parents began noticing a problem. "The district wasn't doing what was intended with the money," parent Vicky Martinez said. Former Superintendent Beutner said the district received $77 million, but none of it went toward hiring new teachers. Beutner and heads of the LAUSD's largest unions said zero new teachers meant zero real growth in arts education — the very reason he wrote and they backed the law. "It's a loss of opportunity," SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said. Regarding legal costs, KCAL News asked the district directly about possibly settling the parent lawsuit, but we have not received a response.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LAUSD Accused of Mishandling $77 Million in Arts Education Funds
Los Angeles Unified School District faces a lawsuit alleging misuse of $76.7 million in taxpayer funds that voters approved to expand arts and music education. The L.A. Superior Court filing targets both the district and Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, claiming LAUSD failed to hire new teachers as required by Proposition 28 since its 2022 LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner, who authored Prop. 28, filed the suit Monday alongside eight students represented by their parents. "We're suing to make sure that the district follows through with the law, hires more teachers and provides more arts instruction to kids in public schools, every school," says suit, backed by the district's major labor unions including United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), Service Employees International Union Local 99, and Teamsters Local 572, argues that without new teacher hires, arts education remains stagnant. One plaintiff, a 15-year-old at Franklin High School, reports never taking an arts class at either Franklin or her previous LAUSD school. Parent Vicky Martinez, who has three children in LAUSD schools, notes: "There are no additional arts or theater or music teachers. My youngest, who's in middle school, doesn't have any arts whatsoever."More than two years ago, artists and educators across California rallied to address long-standing gaps in arts education through Prop. 28. The measure passed with overwhelming support – 70% of L.A. County voters backed it, along with prominent artists like Dr. Dre and The law mandates California allocate general fund money to expand arts education, generating $938 million statewide last year. LAUSD received $76.7 million, with 80% designated for hiring new art March, before filing the suit, Beutner and his associates sent a letter to the governor and state leaders claiming the district violated the law. "It's clear that Californians overwhelmingly want more arts and music in public schools," the letter states. "It has come to our attention, some school districts in California are willfully violating the law by using the new funds provided by Prop. 28 to replace existing spending for arts education at schools."The district maintains compliance with state guidelines. In a statement Monday, LAUSD officials said they hadn't received notice of the lawsuit but "continue to follow implementation guidance as provided by the state of California to ensure that we are fully complying with the requirements of Prop. 28."LAUSD cites increased arts funding from $114 million in 2022-23 to over $206 million in 2023-24, with schools averaging an $82,000 boost to their arts budgets. They report arts staffing grew from 273 to 520 full-time employees. In a June 2024 memo to the Board of Education, Superintendent Carvalho stated that "the district prioritized the use of Prop. 28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff."Beutner challenges these figures: "Long Beach receives about $10 million a year from Prop. 28. They've hired 150 additional arts teachers. By that same standard, L.A. Unified should have hired more than 1,000. It hasn't happened." UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz criticizes the situation: "I am frustrated and exasperated by this kind of shell game that we're playing with voters' money, and we're also playing with students, our babies, in this district, that deserve to have arts education on a daily basis in their schools."The plaintiffs claim funding from Prop. 28 is being misallocated. The funds are meant to hire additional staff, not cover existing salaries. School districts must use the money to increase, not replace, existing arts and music funding. Despite repeated requests over the past year, the district has not released key budget documents that would clarify how it allocated these funds.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LAUSD misused millions in taxpayer-approved money meant for arts education, suit alleges
Los Angeles Unified officials repeatedly violated Proposition 28 — a state law requiring the hiring of arts teachers — misusing millions in state funds and denying promised arts instruction to students across the school system, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed Monday. The L.A. Superior Court suit was brought by former L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner, who is a plaintiff, along with eight students, represented by their guardians. Three school district labor unions on Monday announced their endorsement of the litigation. Monday evening, an L.A. Unified spokesperson said the district had not been served with the suit. "That said, we have sought to clarify any misunderstandings regarding Prop. 28 and we continue to follow implementation guidance as provided by the state of California to ensure that we are fully complying with the requirements of Prop. 28," the district said in a statement. In earlier public comments, district officials have said they have properly used Proposition 28 money plus other funding sources to increase overall arts-related spending by more than the amount required by the voter-approved measure. The lawsuit alleges that L.A. Unified provided a false certification to the state that Proposition 28 arts funding has been used properly, and that " LAUSD has defrauded the State of California and its taxpayers." Proposition 28 was approved by a nearly two-thirds majority of voters in November 2022. It requires that a portion of California's general fund, equal to 1% of the minimum state funding levels for K-12 schools and community colleges, be added to education funding to expand visual and performing arts instruction. This translated to $938 million statewide last year and about $77 million for L.A. Unified. From the get-go, Beutner, who wrote and financed the proposition, was concerned that some school systems would use the new arts money to pay for existing arts programs — leaving students no better off than before. For that reason, the law forbids maintaining the old funding levels with the new money. Moreover, Proposition 28 states that the arts funding, which is generated by student enrollment, must go to the school in which those students are enrolled. Also, school leadership, such as the principal or a school committee, control the use of the dollars. 'LAUSD has done exactly what the law prohibits,' the lawsuit alleges. 'It has eliminated existing funding sources for existing art teachers, and replaced those funds with Proposition 28 funds, thereby violating the requirement that the funds supplement rather than supplant existing sources.' The lawsuit lists 37 elementary schools with the same or reduced money for arts instruction from 2022-23 to 2023-24 and alleges that most L.A. Unified schools faced a similar funding situation. Read more: Voters approved more arts money for schools. Powerful unions allege funds are being misused 'Presented with a historic opportunity" for a "meaningful expansion" of arts education, "LAUSD has squandered the opportunity and violated the law. As a consequence, hundreds of thousands of students have been harmed," according to the lawsuit. In June, district officials quietly added $30 million to the elementary school arts budget for the 2024-25 school year amid ongoing accusations from Beutner, union leaders and parents scattered across L.A. Unified that the district was violating the law. They had become concerned when, despite the flow of new dollars, nothing appeared to have changed at their elementary schools during the 2023-24 school year, the first year that Prop. 28 funds became available. Supt. Alberto Carvalho and Deputy Supt. Pedro Salcido said during a June school board meeting that adding $30 million to elementary arts funding for the current school year was not an admission of wrongdoing. 'We decided, considering the degree of confusion and because ultimately we believe in the benefit of arts education ... to create this additional fund," Carvalho said during the meeting. "Notwithstanding the letter of the law, we decided to lean on the intent, not just the letter, but the intent. How are people perceiving that? And we're paying a price for that. So ... $30 million is above and beyond full compliance with the letter of the law, leaning more towards what we believe is the understanding of individuals in schools.' Salcido added: 'We want to make sure that as we move forward this is not a place of contention, controversy or questioning.' Read more: LAUSD quietly adds $30 million to arts budget amid allegations it violated the law In interviews, on social media and in public meetings, critics continued to fault the district — for not restoring redirected funds from the prior school year. They also contend the added arts instruction for the current school year remains well short of what was required by Prop. 28, an allegation also made in the lawsuit. The district has refused for more than a year to publicly release relevant budget documents to parents and to The Times that would clarify how the money intended for arts instruction was handled. Board member Scott Schmerelson — who has since become board president — aired some of the concerns at public meetings. Carvalho partly addressed them in an Aug. 15 internal memo. In that memo, which was cited in the lawsuit, L.A. Unified officials acknowledged to the Board of Education that they had used new arts money, for example, to replace existing funding for 167 out of 227 elementary arts instructors during the 2023-24 school year. Meanwhile, money that had been used for arts was redirected for other purposes, which were not described in the memo. "Given historic staffing challenges in filling Arts educator roles ... the District prioritized the use of Prop. 28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff," the memo stated. District officials said in the memo that their actions were legal because overall district spending on the arts increased in an amount surpassing what was provided by Prop. 28. In response to questions from The Times, the state education department agreed with L.A. Unified on this point — that to determine compliance with Prop. 28 rules, district arts spending is measured at the district level and not the school level. L.A. Unified supported their claim of overall increased arts expenditures, in large part citing higher spending for field trips funded through a different source. With this different funding source added in, the district states in the memo that arts staffing increased from 273 to 520 full-time equivalent positions from 2022-23 to 2023-24 and that arts-related spending increased from $74.7 million to $206.2 million over that same period. These figures are challenging to assess because of internal inconsistencies and incomplete information. As one example, the August memo said there were five high school arts teachers in 2022-23. The following year, the number grew to 126 thanks to Prop. 28 and other funding, the memo said. The school system has 86 senior high schools. However, in written responses to questions from The Times, the district said there were 918 high school arts teachers in 2022-23, not five. To further justify the Prop. 28 funding shifts, a district spokesperson, in written responses to queries from The Times, stated that L.A. Unified relied on an auditing guide from the California Department of Education, which allowed for districtwide tabulation of arts spending. The lawsuit contends that the auditing instructions do not outweigh all other factors. "This does not give defendants the right to violate every other portion of the statute's plain-language requirements," the suit alleges. State education officials, including state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, have avoided taking sides in the dispute and advised districts to consult their own attorneys as needed. Even so, "it is unlikely that the use of arts funding for field trips unrelated to the arts would be an appropriate use of funds," said department spokesperson Elizabeth Sanders. Sanders added: 'We don't know one way or another if LAUSD is operating within the audit guidelines when it comes to their use of Prop. 28 funds." The field trips have been organized under a program called Cultural Arts Passport, or CAP. Field trips were apparently tabulated as arts spending, including trips to amusement parks, professional sporting events, game shows, the zoo, recreation areas and activities such as indoor sky diving, according to the lawsuit and internal L.A. Unified records. These CAP field trips are paid for from a different state-funding source, the state-funded Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, the school district has confirmed to The Times. "Defendant Carvalho has repeatedly used CAP to attempt a cover-up: by incorrectly including funding for CAP in its calculations of how much funding was spent on arts education," the lawsuit alleges. At a June meeting, Chief Academic Officer Frances Baez defended the classification of all field trips as arts instruction, saying, in part, that "Arts lives everywhere.' Proposition 28 states that 80% of funding must pay for the salaries and benefits of either new arts teachers or arts teachers working additional hours. The remaining 20% is to pay for costs related to this instruction. Field trips could fall under that 20% — although that 20% also should cover such needs as art supplies, musical instruments and arts teacher training, state officials and other experts told The Times. The unions endorsing the litigation are United Teachers Los Angeles, Local 99 of Service Employees International Union, which represents most non-teaching workers, and Teamsters Local 572, which represents drivers, plant managers, cafeteria managers and some other workers. UTLA or Local 99 would represent the vast majority of the new arts instructors that would be hired. UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz emphasized the benefits of arts education and the importance of honoring the intent of the law. "I am frustrated and exasperated by this kind of shell game that we're playing with voters' money, and we're also playing with students, our babies, in this district, that deserve to have arts education on a daily basis in their schools," Myart-Cruz said. Highland Park parent Vicky Martinez, a plaintiff in the suit, said she actively campaigned for Prop. 28 but became frustrated when she saw no discernible increase in arts education at the schools her three children attend — and no satisfactory answers from questions raised by her and other parents. When she had attended public school, "I had the honor of having art. I was able to take dance," Martinez said. The arts made school engaging and "I knew that if I wanted to continue to do these things, I had to be in school, and I had to do good in school." "So when my kids went to the same school I attended, I thought, if I had it, surely they have to have it. And lo and behold, that wasn't the case," Martinez said. "So after we passed Prop. 28, I was really surprised that we weren't seeing an improvement in the arts across the board. It's very important to me, and it's very important to the kids in my community." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
11-02-2025
- CBS News
LAUSD faces lawsuit claiming the district defrauded taxpayers
A lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Unified School District and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Monday claims they defrauded taxpayers over millions of dollars in funding. The district's former superintendent is spearheading the lawsuit. Austin Beutner and Hollywood's biggest stars helped get nearly a billion dollars set aside specifically for new art teachers and classes, through Proposition 28. More than two years ago, artists and educators across California came together to reverse declining arts education through a new state law. The change would come from Prop 28, which passed overwhelmingly across California, with 70% of LA County in favor of it. Now, there is nearly $1 billion in additional art funding for all schools, with a larger portion promised to underserved communities and a full 80% specifically earmarked to hire new art teachers. However, after LAUSD got the largest arts funding check in the state parents began noticing a problem. "The district wasn't doing what was intended with the money," parent Vicky Martinez said. Former Superintendent Beutner said the district received $77 million for new teachers. "$77 million and how much of that went to new teachers? Beutner said while making a zero with his hand. Beutner and heads of the LAUSD's largest unions said zero new teachers meant zero real growth in arts education — the very reason he wrote and they backed the law. "It's a loss of opportunity," SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said. The loss has led to this lawsuit from parents such as Martinez and Beutner. The legal action says Carvalho and the district "defrauded the State of California and its taxpayers' over "millions of dollars in funding" that was not used to "hire new art teachers" and that "hundreds of thousands of students have been harmed." The lawsuit claims that LAUSD's own data proves that almost no new teachers were hired. The majority of zeroes listed in the complaint show little or no change in teacher hours, year-over-year, for some elementary schools. "They should have hired more than a thousand teachers," Beutner said. Before filing the suit, Beutner and his associates sent a letter to the governor and state leaders last May, claiming that this "violate(s) the law." By June, the Los Angeles School Board demanded answers, telling Superintendent Carvalho, "We must be able to show the public that we are complying with funding regulations." "Parent groups, schools, art teachers, every single time I'm getting these calls and complaints that it's not happening like it should be happening at the schools," LA School Board member Scott Schmerelson said. Carvalho said, "The district prioritized the use of Prop 28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff." "He says he used the money to cover, to pay existing staff," Beutner said. "The law says you may not use the money, in plain language." The money they believe was illegally "redirected" to other things such as "to increase senior staff salaries" claiming their pay has "increased fivefold since 2010, while student enrollment has plunged." "We want to make sure the money that's supposed to go to the schools gets there," Beutner said. This includes the school Martinez's son attends. "It would mean he would have no arts in the middle school, high school," she said. "In his middle school, there's none." She added that she just wants more art, less questionable math, and for her son to dance and not suffer any sidestepping around his opportunities. "It's sad because you want the best for your kids," Martinez said. "I'm not asking for more. I'm asking for what's rightfully theirs." LAUSD said it had increased the total arts budget, beyond $77 million, and nearly doubled staffing. The district issued a statement with their explanation: "Los Angeles Unified recognizes the profound importance of the arts and prioritizes arts instruction, programming and investments. We are committed to providing arts exposure for every student in Los Angeles Unified regardless of their zip code. When Prop. 28 was approved by voters in 2022, the law required school districts to increase arts funding to provide equitable access to the arts districtwide rather than at individual school sites. Los Angeles Unified has done just that by increasing our total arts budget from $114 million in 2022-23 to over $206 million in 2023-24. Additionally, on average, schools saw an $82,000 increase in their total arts budget in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23. Arts staffing also increased from 273 full-time employees (FTE) in 2022-23 to 520 in 2023-24, nearly doubling. With additional funds being allocated for elementary arts teachers, the total FTE in 2024-25 is projected to be 726. This represents an increase of 206 FTE (~40%) from 2023-24. The District consulted and received guidance from CDE in how we are allocating Prop. 28 funding. Some have questioned how the District has allocated funding by identifying school site variances, but this is a misunderstanding of the law, or a disagreement with the stipulations of Prop. 28 itself and how the District determined to allocate other arts funding. Per CDE guidance, the determination of supplement/supplant is tested at the District level rather than at the individual school level. Further, though some individuals may have promised the public that every school across California would see an increase in arts funding, this was not included in the requirements of Prop. 28. Families are welcome to view their school budgets through our school directory website. Important background: School variance in expenditures is due, in part, to how the state calculates Prop. 28 funding and is adjusted as school enrollment changes. The CDE's Prop. 28 allocation is based on $111 per enrolled student and $78 for each student receiving free or reduced-price meals (FRPM)."
