What Message Does Ref Rodriguez Send to the Children of Los Angeles?

“My focus remains on my job and duties as a board member.”

- Ref Rodriguez

It has been nine months since the news broke that LAUSD Board Member Ref Rodriguez was being charged with participating in a conspiracy that hid the true source of almost $25,000 in campaign donations from the public. While his lawyer claimed that the accusations were “much ado about nothing”, the District Attorney’s office felt that they rose to the level of a “Felony Complaint”. Through the use of legal maneuverings, Rodriguez’s attorneys have successfully pushed back his court date. Meanwhile, Rodriguez continues to sit on the School Board representing constituents that he is alleged to have defrauded.

A month after this indictment, Partnerships to Uplift Communities accused Rodriguez of transferring “more than $285,000 in public funds from the charter school network he co-founded to two businesses with which he had personal ties.” State investigators had previously found that this same charter school operator had previously “showed an alleged conflict of interest in the awarding of millions of dollars in food contracts” while Rodriguez served on its governing board and as treasurer of the group. Recently, Rodriguez was forced to recuse himself from a vote on extending the Inspector General Ken Bramlett’s contract since both of these matters were referred to this office. However, his three charter industry allies, Monica…