School Officials Leave Behind Questions About Paid Trip to Monterey

More than a dozen top Los Angeles school officials left Thursday to attend a corporate-sponsored seminar in Monterey, leaving behind questions that the trip could be improper under the state education code’s prohibition on accepting gifts from vendors.

Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Bill Anton, his wife, Donnalyn, who heads the district’s professional development division, and Deputy Supt. Sid Thompson were among the 12 to 15 administrators who took the trip.

They are to be guests of the Computer Curriculum Corp. through Saturday afternoon, according to Gordon Wohlers, district assistant superintendent for school reform.

State education officials say the trip does not appear to be a violation of the state education code. But Mike Hersher, deputy general counsel for the California Department of Education, said that if the district does business in the future with the company, it could be seen as a violation of the law.

He said it could be asked: “Why does this company want to fly all these people to Monterey? Why is it worth that much to this company?”

District officials, however, said the trip is for educational purposes only. They said the officials are breaking no law by going on it since there is currently no business between the two entities and no plans to conduct any in the foreseeable future.

“We’re not (going) there to buy; they’re not there to sell,” said Wohlers, whose unit helped organize the trip. “Our understanding is this is going to be an educational opportunity for selected people in the management structure, the ones who work most directly with schools.”

The administrators will stay at a beachside hotel, attending meetings all day Friday. More sessions are scheduled for Saturday to discuss how computer technology can be used in instruction. The group is scheduled to return Saturday afternoon, Wohlers said.

Howard Friedman, a staff attorney for the district, said it is not unusual for districts to take advantage of “private resources,” such as free seminars, to enhance public education. “The practice in school districts throughout the state is to take advantage of opportunities and donations,” Friedman said. “You don’t categorically reject that simply because you may sometime do business.”

A review of district contracts found that the district did business with Computer Curriculum Corp. for more than a decade. It most recently entered into two contracts totaling $15,822 for computer equipment and programs at Belmont High School. Both contracts, originally scheduled to extend from July 1, 1990, to June 30, 1991, were canceled in January, 1991.

Hersher said the district must be careful not to create situations that could be perceived as a conflict of interest if the district chooses to do business with a company in the future.

“If you’re planning to change the way the district does business in curriculum . . . and you’re previewing what’s in the marketplace, you have to be more careful in taking free things that are of value,” Hersher said.

Times staff writer Tracy Wood contributed to this story.