U.S. Probing Belmont Spending, Officials Say
The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Education has requested records related to the Belmont Learning Complex, Los Angeles school officials said.
The agency is attempting to determine whether any federal money has been spent on the $200-million high school project, said Don Mullinax, head of internal audit and special investigations for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Mullinax said he believes the approximately $170 million already spent or set aside for Belmont has all come from local sources.
The Board of Education has suspended work on the half-finished project until it decides whether to undertake costly measures to mitigate the dangers of explosive methane and toxic hydrogen sulfide. The other option is to abandon the project.
A spokesman for the Department of Education’s inspector general said it is the policy of the office to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
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