Education Office Report Released

An investigation of the Los Angeles County Office of Education has rejected some claims by two teachers that the agency is fraught with mismanagement. The study, however, recommended further probing of other allegations.

The report was compiled by downtown Los Angeles-based KSG Forensic & Investigative Services, which was hired by the county education office to look into the teachers’ 14 complaints. KSG found no merit in three: that money was being funneled from the classroom to administration, and that the County Office of Education did not know its total enrollment or its total income.

The county office, which serves 20,000 students with special needs and social and behavioral problems, said that of the 11 other allegations, it would look into investigating two that the KSG study recommended for additional review by outside or internal auditors. Those include charges that workers falsified student attendance to garner government funding, and claims that lax security endangers teachers’ safety.

The other nine allegations will not be explored because they were deemed too subjective, said Margo Minecki, a spokeswoman for the county office. Those include charges that the agency was top-heavy with administrators and wasted money in its real estate decisions and other spending.

“LACOE continues to stand by its record of providing high-quality services and programs to students and school districts throughout Los Angeles County,” the agency said in a written statement released Tuesday.

Bruce Kelton, the lead KSG investigator, said most of the allegations could not be proved or disproved with the evidence presented by the teachers. Looking into claims about bloated administration would require a “massive undertaking,” he said.

“I wasn’t asked to resolve all the issues,” Kelton said. Instead, “I had to put it in order and perspective.”

The charges, brought by teachers Paul White and Robert J. McGill of the West Valley Leadership Academy in Canoga Park, were presented to the County Office of Education and the California Department of Education in a report last August that compiled interviews, memos and other documents over a five-year span. The state declined to investigate the matter, but the county agency hired KSG.

White said he was unhappy with the investigation’s results and called the county agency arrogant for “refusing to address all their problems.”

“The report is intentionally misleading,” White said. “What kind of objectivity can we expect from an investigative report where the draft is turned over to the county for approval?”

The education office said it made no changes to the report before it was publicly released.