A small news item in the Sac Bee took me down memory lane.

“A Sacramento jury has awarded $7.6 million to a California Department of Education whistle-blower who was retaliated against after he reported the misappropriation of millions of dollars in government funds. The funds were handed out to community-based organizations between 1995 and 2000 to teach English as a second language to adults. Some of the schools turned out to be non-existent.”
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/160661.html ---- more background:
http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/cap/2004/cap_04-06-17.html

According to Pacific Research Institute, during the period in question the Department of Education failed to conduct a single on-site audit of any school district in the state.
http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/sab/educat/grand_theft_education.pdf

First of all, thank goodness that Jim Lindberg at the Department of Education did the right thing and blew the whistle on this massive fraud. It was found that both the Department, and former Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, retaliated against the whistleblower rather than stop the fraud. A jury had originally awarded the whistleblower $4.5 million in 2002, but the state stupidly appealed. Now, this new jury has almost doubled the award, plus court costs. Clearly, it is time for California to cry uncle and pay this guy.

Since these were actually federal grant monies, the feds did their own investigation, and in 2001 indicted a couple of the groups’ leaders who falsely took this money. No one from the Department of Education was indicted. The Deparment gave the federal government back $3.3 million for the fraudulent dispersal of the federal money. Millions in state funds are still not accounted for.

The state should hold hearings on this matter. State Superintendent Jack O’Connell should be asked whether the recommendations in the state auditor’s report were ever instituted and whether additional efforts have been made to get the peoples’ money back.
http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/99121.pdf

Bill Leonard is a member of the California State Board of Equalization, representing District 2. He served in the State Legislature for 24 years.