Source: Cabinet Report
By: Alisha Kirby
Date: March 29, 2016
Related Staff: Rigel S. Massaro
The California Department of Education is being asked to withhold state funding from West Contra Costa Unified School District for allegedly not seeking public input into spending millions of dollars as required by law.
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“They fell far short of their legal obligation to consult with parents and other stakeholders about the use of these funds,” Rigel Massaro, an attorney with Public Advocates who is representing the plaintiffs, said in an interview. “LCFF requires real robust local and comprehensive decision making – it isn’t just folks at the district office – and what we see here is the district making a unilateral decision completely outside the public process without discussing alternatives or seeking input at all.”
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“Without going through the LCAP process, it’s impossible to know whether the district’s unilateral allocation is actually going to increase or improve services for low-income and foster youth in the district,” Massaro said. “You’re not going to be able to measure progress or keep accountability.”
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“We would just love for the district to begin the legally required process for getting community input on that $30.1 million,” Massaro said. “It might not even be that hard to bring in the community voices, get the metrics in there and revise the LCAP document if they’re already doing the outreach that they should be doing for their current LCAP.”
