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Sweetwater district’s mellow ruse
What a travesty Brand and his co-conspirators have vested on the people of the South Bay. They have cheated and stolen their way through the public coffers, breaking all the rules and laws that govern prudent management along the way. A pox on all their houses. May the FBI truly investigate these criminals and their financial records and double dealings. God help the people of South County as they try to unravel the trail of evil deeds and to right the ship. Anniej is so right...all the candidates for the board need full vetting. It would be a good idea for those who have been so involved in exposing the travesty to develop a check list of issues on which the candidates should be questioned thoroughly before the election.— August 13, 2014 3:24 p.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
I think the board of trustees would be the most logical to order up a forensic audit. The present 'interim' board, however, might be hesitant to put that much of themselves into the SUHSD oversight as they are all short-timers. I think the most promising entity to get a forensic audit would be the FBI...after all, that's how they got Capone, was thru the books. Lastly, we may have to wait until a new board is seated in December to get any real action on a real audit.— August 4, 2014 10:15 a.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
So, by listening to Russo's recap of the district's rationale (in September, 2011 per the link provided above) for joining with Plan 9 Partners, I am able to understand that the District's intent was to 'protect the property and avoid having another district take it'. She admits the the district transferred the property to Plan 9 Partners. to avoid the possibility that some other district might opt for it. That, folks, is what happens when a public entity obeys the law and holds public hearings to see if the property should be declared 'surplus'..... First in line for properties declared surplus are other public entities. Surely Ms. Russo knew the legal requirements and she admits the scheme to circumvent the law with regard to the sale of public properties. So, we see one of the early steps in the shell game. Cover the pea (the property) with a shell (blanket of jargon and gobbledook) to keep it hidden while you jockey your way to scamming your victim (in this case, the district's taxpayers) out of his or her property. It is of interest that the words 'public hearing' or 'declaration of surplus' are not uttered. This tape seems to be prima facie evidence of intent to deceive.— August 3, 2014 4:03 p.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
Amen, amen!— August 2, 2014 1:52 p.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
eastlaker -- you pose a terrific question. Possible answers include the fact that the elected officials who were supposed to make sure that things worked were corrupted by greedy contractors and administrators. This corruption has been going on for a long time, since as far back as the Trujillo admin in the mid 1980's. The tentacles of the corruption filled ( and may still fill) every area and area crack, with employees not loyal to the educational good of their charges but to whomever they owed their jobs. The last three guys at the top (Brand twice, Gandara) were part and parcel of the morass, but they had to have the board in their pockets in order for it to work. The present real estate scheme, and I do mean scheme in the most evil way, is a multi-headed hydra that will be difficult to identify and take out. I surmise that Brand is at the center of it, but leaving others to be the public face of the deal. I appreciate the work of so many stakeholders to bring this ugly picture into some focus. However, none of this could have happened if watchdogs had been more vigilant and the public more engaged in the governance of the district. We are still not out of the woods, and need more intervention by those officials who are supposed to provide oversight when things go awry.... such as the County Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the FBI, etc.etc. You name it, there is a piece of malfeasance for every public agency to pursue. We must also insist on a higher level of justice from our courts....Judge Espana's rulings are little more than a joke. I do not believe it is the manifest destiny of South County to become a Tammany Hall -type community wherein everything is for sale and up for a scam, but it will take diligent leadership and stakeholder engagement to identify current weaknesses, to solve them, and to go forward into a better time. The coming elections will provide an opportunity to begin structuring that better time. As others have stated, it is time to thoroughly vet the candidates and not to elect those whose interests are self-serving and tainted.— August 2, 2014 12:11 p.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
The new 'interim' Board, comprised of 4 members from the County Board of Education, ought not to feign lack of information about any of this. Several times, SuHSD stakeholders addressed the CBOE and pleaded for their intervention but their pleas fell on deaf ears. After all, the CBOE IS CHARGED with oversight of the school districts, especially fiscal oversight, in their jurisdiction. Now the chickens come home to roost, it seems, and lo and behold, we have four members of CBOE sitting as 'interim' board members making decisions about what goes on here in SUHSD. Did someone say they are complaining about the amount of work involved in this new gig? Tsk Tsk...should have paid better attention to those South County folks who took the time and energy to ASK for their intervention almost two, or more years ago. What in the world has County Superintendent Randall Ward been doing to earn his fine salary? Certainly not doing due diligence with regard to oversight of at least this huge school district in the jurisdiction he is supposed to supervise. And while we're at it, let's make it clear that every inch and every voter in San Diego County is involved, and partially to blame for what has happened at Suhsd because it is their tax money that has funded the County Board of Education's avoidance of any responsibility for oversight of SUHSD, easily one of the largest districts in their jurisdiction. It is not just a "South County" issue any longer and should not be ignored by officials in such a dismissive way. Let's hope the County Grand Jury is paying attention here. There is more than enough blame to go around.— August 2, 2014 10:20 a.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
Those who complain about the investment of time required by their public office ought not to be in public office!.....any public office for which they have raised their had and sworn the oath of office. If malfeasance occurs on their watch, they are to be held responsible. Those like Cartmill and McCann think they can smile and nod and vote as puppets and take the stipends, benefits and techy toys. We need REAL stakeholders to serve, those who will do their due diligence and hold the feet of those like Fast Eddy and his leeches to the fire. It is OUR money, these are OUR schools, and this is OUR community. We expect better than we are getting!— August 1, 2014 4:15 p.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
A group of parents and other stakeholders could begin by informing Dr. Glover that he is expected to abide by the Ed Code and should also inform the board that they are on the hook for whatever transpires on their watch. I would hope that would get their attention.— August 1, 2014 12:01 p.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
It seems to me that if the interim superintendent and the interim board do not stop the sale of public properties, they are complicit in the breaking of the law that is supposed to govern the sale of so-called 'surplus' public properties.— August 1, 2014 11:28 a.m.
33% of the profit? No problem — hey!
It seems that there have been no requisite public hearings to declare the property, or properties, surplus. According to the law, without such public hearings, they cannot be sold. Ergo, any agreement to sell said properties must be null and void. Fast Eddy's shell games have been exposed. No public hearings to get the PUBLIC's INPUT as to the fate of the properties.......no way they can be sold! It's time to petition the court for an injunction to stop the illegal sale of the District's (public) properties without legal process.— July 31, 2014 8:34 p.m.