Archives 2014 -2018 CaLBOC Newsletters
California League of Bond Oversight Committees, CaLBOC
• 2014-2018 •
2018
March 14, 2018 • Issue 121
• Farmington CBOC Pans Facility Options
• California’s $83 Billion in Bond Debt
January 2, 2018 • Issue 120
• Santa Monica Conflict of Interest Expands to 3 Board Members
• San Jose School Board Member Charged with Campaign Fund Theft
2017
December 5, 2017 • Issue 119
• Alum Rock Construction Has Lagged
• California’s $83 Billion in Bond Debt
November 6, 2017 • Issue 118
• Alum Rock Manager Sought Secret Deals on Construction Bids
• San Ysidro Spent $480 K to Recover $291K from Superintendent
October 16, 2017 • Issue 117
• School Bond Secrecy Lobby Prevails in Sacramento
• CBOC Says WCCUSD is Mismanaging Funds
September 25, 2017 • Issue 116
• Issues Arise in Alum Rock CBOC Bylaws
• School Bond Legislative Update
• Watchdog Blast Pasadena Unified
August 28, 2017 • Issue 115
• Pajaro Valley Pushes Against Grand Jury Report
• Legislative Update: CBOC Terms
• Court Sides with Employee Over Email Purge
July 11, 2017 • Issue 114
• California Places Alum Rock on Tighter Fiscal Leash
• California Schools Chief’s Political Ties Kept Alum Rock Guessing
• SB-342 Moves to Governor’s Desk
June 27, 2017 • Issue 113
• Special Property Tax Lacks Accountability
• The Untold Story Behind Sweetwater Scandal
June 1, 2017 • Issue 112
• Alum Rock Reviewers Blast Construction Management
• Bond Watchdogs Urged to Call Out Misbehavior
April 12, 2017 • Issue 110
• Did Alum Rock Pay $329K for Non-Existent Construction?
March 16, 2017 • Issue 108
• School Bond Money Used on Employee Salaries
• State Watchdog Agency Points to Flaws in Oversight
March 1, 2017 • Issue 107
• Little Hoover Commission Says Bond Watchdogs Don’t Have Much Bite
• San Diego Says It Will Take Millions More to Improve School Buildings
February 15, 2016 • Issue 106
• San Dieguito UHSD Cancels Building Contracts
• Brown Wants to Hold Off on Selling California School Bonds
January 25, 2017 • Issue 105
• Sweetwater UHSD Gets $8.2 Million in Settlement Over Pay-To-Play Scandal
• Brown Demands Better Auditing Procedures in Place Before Issuing Bonds
January 10, 2017 • Issue 104
• West Contra Costa Schools Face Tough Choices as Bond Money Runs Out
• Gov. Brown Exploring if New $9 billion Bond Can be Divvied up Equitably
2016
November 1, 2016 • Issue 103
• Pay-to-Play Concerns in WCCUSD School Bond Program?
• Prop. 51: $9 Billion for Construction
September 27, 2016 • Issue 102
• West Contra Costa District Forensic Audit Report on $1.6 Billion Bond Program
• Statewide School Bond Stymied in Legislature, Backers Go Their Own Way
September 6, 2016 • Issue 101
• Warrant Issued for Los Banos School Board Member, Merced Contractor Arrested on Bribery Charges
• How Investment Banks Cash in on School Construction
• West Contra Costa Unified: Whistleblower Files Retaliation Complaint
August 8, 2016 • Issue 100
• Chiang and County Treasurers Move to Stop ‘Pay-to-Play’ School Bond Campaigns
• Building California Schools Now Big Business, Big Money and Big Politics
July 5, 2016 • Issue 99
• Local Districts do Little to Protect Themselves from Conflicted Advisers
• El Monte Union Lacks Records, Oversight for $148 Million Bond Measure
June 13, 2016 • Issue 98
• Grand Jury Report Eviscerates San Ysidro School Bond Program
• Poway Paid a Financial Firm Double the Contract Amount in Half the Time
May 20, 2016 • Issue 95
• California Faces Conflicts Over Billions in School Bonds
April 25, 2016 • Issue 93
• Fresno Unified Wants Leaseback Lawsuit Dismissed
• AB 2316 | New Bill Would Protect School Contractors In No-Bid Deals
April 14, 2016 • Issue 92
• AB-2116 – School Bond Debt Passed Through the Education Committee
• Several Years and $1 Billion Later, San Diego Schools Are Actually in Worse Shape
March 29, 2016 • Issue 91
• Citing California Policy Center Study AB-2116 Seeks to Stop Runaway School Bond Debt
March 2, 2016 • Issue 90
• Builder Emails Fresno Unified ‘We Are a Go’ Months Before School Board Votes on Projects
February 10, 2016 • Issue 89
• California AG’s Opinion Targets School Bond Practices
•Attorney General Opines on Brown Act Web Posting Requirement
January 27, 2016 • Issue 88
• West Contra Costa School Board Approves Full-Fledged Forensic Audit of Bond Program
• Judge affirms ruling against Acalanes bond issuance
January 11, 2016 • Issue 87
• Education Debt Debate Heats Up
• Education Sector Bond Spending Continues to Spike
2015
December 8, 2015 • Issue 86
• Forensic Auditors Find Absence of Strong Internal Controls in West Contra Costa schools Bond Program
• Can California’s K-12 Districts Adequately and Equitably Fund School Facilities?
November 25, 2015 • Issue 85
• Oakland’s Facilities Chief Oversees Work by His Own Company
• Fitch: Some California School District GOs Protected in Bankruptcy
November 3, 2015 • Issue 84
• Lobbying Public Agencies by Day, Guarding Public Dollars by Night
• Sweetwater District OKs Labor-Pact Talks
October 23, 2015 • Issue 83
• Acalanes District Should Abandon Foolish Gambit to Bypass Voters’ Will
• New Ruling Throws Poway Unified Consultants’ Lucrative Deal Into Question
September 29, 2015 • Issue 82
• $9 Billion School Bond Qualifies for California November 2016 Ballot
• Critic Questions Action of Underwriters
• California Legislature Expands Design-Build
September 11, 2015 • Issue 81
• Federal Subpoena of Fresno Targets District Officials Involved in No-Bid Contracts
• California Supreme Court Won’t Hear Fresno Unified Leaseback Case
• Pay to Play – Attorneys Late in Filing Challenge. Sweetwater Contractors Slapped Down
August 26, 2015 • Issue 80
• Bill protecting contractors in district leaseback deals dies in committee
• Doing the Math, Bond Debt for California Schools May Not Pencil Out
July 29, 2015 • Issue 79
• Statewide Report Criticizes Passage of School Bonds
• Why LAUSD Wants Exemption from Low-Bidder Law for $2 Billion in Construction Projects
July 13, 2015 • Issue 78
• Solano County Grand Jury Challenges Measure Q Oversight in 2nd of Two Critical Reports
• Opinion: Contractor lobbyists Seek Relief from California Legislature
June 30, 2015 • Issue 77
• Builders Want Changes to State’s Lease-Leaseback Law
• West Contra Costa School Bond Oversight ‘Stymied,’ Grand Jury Says – Contra Costa Grand Jury Report 1514 – June 11, 2015
June 8, 2015 • Issue 76
• Court reverses decision on Fresno Unified’s controversial contract to build Gaston school
• Could Waste and Fraud be Happening in Your School District?
May 15, 2015 • Issue 75
• San Diego Schools Put Stadium Spending Above Classrooms
April 20, 2015 • Issue 73.pdf
• SEC Launches Informal Inquiry into LAUSD’s Use of Bonds for iPads
• Converting High-Interest capital Appreciation Bonds – San Leandro district bond refinance saves millions
April 14, 2015 • Issue 72
• Projects Not Disclosed in Bond Ballot Language – The Next Bond Money Fight: Swimming Pools
• San Diego Unified Is Still in the Dark on Funding Field Lights With Bond Money
February 10, 2015 • Issue 70
• West Contra Costa Unified School District – Private Firms Wield Large Influence Over WCCUSD Bond Program As Costs Soar
January 26, 2015 • Issue 69
• Bond Language Stated Alpine High School Would be Built – Judge favors Alpine over Grossmont
January 14, 2015 • Issue 68
• California School Builders, Others to Gather Signatures for Nov. Bond Measure
• FBI Pursuing Allegations Against West Contra Costa School District
2014
December 31, 2014 • Issue 67
• San Diego – Companies tried to Claim Wining, Dining, was Free Speech Judge Rejects Contractors’ Meal Gambits
• Fight Over How Bond Money is Spent Ends up in Court Injunction Hearing Continued
December 4, 2014 • Issue 66
• Controversial $1.3 Billion iPad Deal FBI Seizes LAUSD’s’ iPad Documents
• LAUSD Eyeing More Bonds as Funds for School Repairs Dwindle
October 21, 2014 • Issue 65
• FPPC Investigation of Gi1s from Stone & Youngberg Hundreds fail to report bond-firm meals
• Bond funds Can Only be Used for Projects Listed in Measure – Lawsuit Filed Against Sonora High School
October 7, 2014 • Issue 64
• Reducing Costs for Building – Getting it right on local school bonds meanings slowing down
• Tax Rate Es4mate of Bonds to be in Sample Ballot
September 23, 2014 • Issue 63
• Reducing Costs for Building and Renovating Schools – Sacramento Taxpayer Group Tries New Tactic on School Bonds
September 10, 2014 • Issue 62
• Ex-Sweetwater chief, Convicted in Pay-to-Play Scandal – Ex-Schools Chief Must Forfeit Pension
• Securities & Exchange Commission Subpoenas in WCCUSD – Contracts Show School Board President, Not District, Client of Brother’s Law Firm
• ‘Enhanced’ Audit Approved for West Contra Costa District’s Bond Program
July 28, 2014 • Issue 61
• San Diego School Bond Transparency Scorecard Update – School Bond Programs are More Transparent, Study Shows
• Acalanes district seeks to validate bond issuance exceeding promised tax rate
July 14, 2014 • Issue 60
• Legislative Update|Assembly Bill 2235 California School Bond Measure Advances
• SEC Charges School District with Misleading Investors – SEC and California District Settle Dispute
June 30, 2014 • Issue 59
• CCC Grand Jury Capital Appreciation Bonds Report 1411 – Grand Jury to Contra Costa County School Districts: Stop Using Capital Appreciation Bonds
• CBOC Member Reappointed After School Board Removed Him – L.A. Unified Watchdog Back on the Job
June 16, 2014 • Issue 58
• Pay to Play in School Bond Measures – What it is and Why it is Wrong
• Pay to Play | Sweetwater UHD Joins Contractor Lawsuit – With Guilty Board Members Gone, District Seeks Tainted Funds Back
• 99% of Funds can go for Construc<on with “Pay-As-You-Go” – Public Eye: San Juan aims to pay off school bond debt more quickly
May 30, 2014 • Issue 57
• West Contra Costa USD Revises CBOC’s Agenda – Bond Oversight Commi9ee ‘Mad as Hell’
• West Contra Costa USD – Support for Kids or ‘Pay to Play’ – School Bond Program Draws Massive Campaign Spending by Contract Recipients
• West Contra Costa USD – 7th Bond Measure – Pricey School Construction Spending Draws Scrutiny in Bond Measure
May 1, 2014 • Issue 55
• Pay-to-Play | San Diego South County School Districts – San Ysidro trustee steps down after all
April 28, 2014 • Issue 54
• Pay-to-Play | Bill Would Amend the Political Reform Act Sweetwater-Inspired Reform Bill Advances
April 21, 2014 • Issue 53
• Pay-to-Play | Bond Firm’s Hospitality Under Review State to Probe Dinner for School Officials
April 10, 2014 • Issue 52
• Law firm says bond oversight committees don’t need to file disclosure forms
• San Diego County – Ex-Sweetwater officials plead guilty