#AnotherDayAnotherCharterScandal

District Bureaucrats Fail To Hold Charter School Accountable

When will the LAUSD finally take action on a safety-related Notice of Violation that has been outstanding for almost four years?

“Have all of those been rectified, have they been cured, have they been fixed so that they meet our standards?”

- LAUSD Board Member Jackie Goldberg

Fresh off securing eight million dollars in funds meant to protect jobs, Granada Hills Charter School is now seeking $1.1 million from the federal government to construct nine new shade structures on their Zelzah campus. Since this facility is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Granada and the district must amend the Sole Occupant Agreement (SOA) for this campus in order for the school to start construction. Before the board could vote on these changes at its last meeting, I provided the following public comment:

I’d like to begin by congratulating Mr. Schmerelson on his victory. Scott, you are a good man who has always put students first. You did not deserve the lies and bigotry thrown your way in this campaign by the charter school industry. They spent almost six and a half million dollars on this campaign and they did so to eliminate oversight on projects such as this one.

To say it bluntly, Granada Hills Charter has a poor history when it comes to construction projects. As noted in the paperwork, “GHC previously made several alterations to the [Zelzah] Campus without Los Angeles Unified consent.” This resulted in a Notice of Violation (NOV) that was issued on March 3, 2017, which was over three years ago. The safety problems that were detailed in this violation should have been rectified by now!

The NOV stated that the projects “were a risk to the health and safety of your…