BY BRIAN HEWS
When a school district bond is proposed and placed on a ballot, independent committees supporting the bond are inevitably formed, with committee members hiring a lead consultant to implement an election plan.
The consultant is also charged with raising money to cover campaign expenses that range from websites, to printing of materials, to newspaper and radio advertising.
THE ABCUSD formed their own Bond Committee recently, the Committee for Safe and Modern Schools, quickly putting the word out they were looking for a consultant.
The Bond Committee planned to schedule qualified consultants to present their election plan, with the committee eventually awarding the contract to the most qualified.
But something went wrong along the way.
Hews Media Group-Community News learned yesterday that Bond Committee Chairman and Board Member Maynard Law unfairly excluded Cerritos resident Daniel Fierro as a consultant.
Maynard Law
The exclusion was prior to the interview and presentation process that is occurring tonight.
No reason was given for the exclusion.
HMG-CN began asking questions immediately after learning of the exclusion, sending emails for follow-up.
Law subsequently emailed another letter today at 12:19 p.m. that magically included Fierro as a presenter.
What is even more questionable is that Law, in the first letter, included Alan Gafford, the former George Baum employee who worked closely with Ann Nock, as a potential consultant.
Nock is the owner of the now-infamous AMN Solutions, contracted by ABC for public relations, and a company who HMG-CN exposed several times as extremely questionable.
Law emailed the first letter to Bond Committee members that stated (verbatim), “Dear Committee Members as of the agreed Friday (Aug. 4) deadline for proposals to provide Campaign consultant services only two proposals were received, Dr. Ralph Pacheco and Alan Gafford.
The inclusion as a presenter for consulting services was news to Gafford.
Gafford told HMG-CN, “I don’t know which meeting agenda you are speaking about. I have not seen that agenda, so you know more than I on this.”
Gafford’s statement confirmed he was not sent the agenda/letter where Law excluded Fierro.
Gafford later backtracked saying, “If you are asking me if I was requested to provide some technical campaign advice with the possibility of further engagement and collaboration with the committee advocating the passage of the ABCUSD bond measure, the answer is yes. I guess I made the agenda for discussion.”
The Aug. 5 agenda letter sent out by Law contradicted the July 31 meeting minutes and suggested that Law, who has the sole ability to award the consultant agreement, had already chosen “his consultant.”
The July 31 Bond Committee meeting minutes, taken by ABC’s Dr. Rhonda Buss and obtained by HMG-CN, confirmed that a Friday Aug. 4 deadline to submit proposals was never established.
It also confirmed that Fierro should have been included, when Law excluded him from tonight’s meeting.
The meeting minutes stated, “Suggestion was to have different consultants make a presentation and the committee determines who would align better with our goals. Other consultants can present at our next meeting (Aug. 6), including Danny Fierro.”
The next communication to Fierro was Law’s Aug. 5 letter stating the Bond Committee received only two proposals, effectively excluding Fierro from tonight’s selection process.
HMG-CN began asking questions, and Law sent out his revised letter today, this time including Gafford in the distribution list.
But the question of who suggested Gafford as a consultant remains a mystery.
Board President Soo Yoo told HMG-CN that she knew nothing about Gafford’s inclusion, “Deny, deny! I know nothing about Gafford, I am surprised.”
ABC Superintendent Dr. Mary Sieu told HMG-CN, “I’m not aware of the campaign committee’s efforts to date. I’m not attending the campaign committee meeting tonight and do not know who has been invited to present their proposals. I did not invite Alan Gafford.”
Board Member Law did not return emails.
It’s more of the bitter arguments between the Democrat and Republican Party in the district; now it has become a new Stormy Daniel twist. Law needs to retire, he is too old.
Could this tie in to something to do with the FBI invasion of Law’s Home ?
Trustees are going to have to decide whether to dismantle Whitney, campus is not being used by many other District races. Whitney compounds has no students from HG nor ELW, nor does it have one black student.
Whitney is just pennant used to over inflame the district lack of diversity. Time district sells off Whitney and use proceeds throughout the district, for upgrades and security to all campuses.
There are many issues with this Bond.
There is no long-term data or quantitative Matrix to support rise of Education over a long-term. Bond shelf life is an unknown perpetuity factor, which has no data on the embellishing of the students.
Bonds are also subject to risks: prepayment risk, credit risk, reinvestment risk, liquidity risk, event risk, exchange rate risk, volatility risk, inflation risk, sovereign risk, and yield curve risk.
All property owners in a district will be affected. Not all eligible to vote in this election. If renters are registered voters in the district, they are eligible to vote. There is no monetary guarantee for the renters, by the property owners, for future unknown increase in monthly/ long rents pricing. This District does not have rent control.
Cerritos has approximately 35% non-owner occupied rental-income properties. If these tenants in these properties are registered to vote, they can vote, and also can the property owner, so some of these properties could have the possibility of double dipping voting.
Approximately 28% of the students in the district are from outside the district, is it fair to the registered property owners in the district?
This is a Mello-Roos Bond, this said school bond, can be purchased and paid in full by any property owners in the district. Also, some underwriting, said bond are not permitted to be recorded on to title, so the bond will have to be paid in full by the property owner; or obtain new financing.
This is a facilities bond, improving the compounds, and not for teachers wages Etc. Trustee’s have done nothing to sell off property, a lot of this excess property should be Sold off, and the money used for improving the existing campuses.
Said Bond money has state capability of being matched by state Grant funds, no guarantee that the grant funds will be available if this passes. Grant funds are available today, but can be amended anytime by the future governors.
District has a declining enrollment, yet alone they still operate five ( 5) high school campuses, this needs to be amended and at least two campuses closed: Whitney and Tracy. That would leave 3 high school campuses which is more than enough per District this size. Sell off or create long term leasing of properties ( 100 Yr Leaseholds)
Cerritos is not one of the more expensive real estate markets in the area: North Downey, La Mirada Heights, La Habra Hills, Rossmoore, Lakewood Village, Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Cypress, all have significant higher resale prices.
Remember the district has many property owners and property renters who are on fixed incomes: Social Security, welfare, food stamps, Obamacare Affordable Housing Mortgages, disability, homeless and other low-income subsidies.
Last 1990’s Mello Roos School bond, played havoc during the sales of Foreclosed property, during recession. Paperwork to support the improvements of the bond, were lost, because the district had employment layoffs, so warranties were lost.