Taxpayer Group Sues County Schools Chief
By Eduardo Rueda – Investigative Reporter
The California Taxpayers Action Network (CalTAN) has filed a lawsuit against San Diego County Board of Education Superintendent Randy Ward and Assistant Superintendent Lora Duzyk, alleging the schools chief rigged the process to allow himself to approve his and Duzyk’s salary increases without performance reviews, including a recent raise they took last week on July 1st.
CalTAN filed its lawsuit Thursday, July 7th, and immediately issued a “Request for Preservation of Evidence for Use in Litigation” asking the SDCOE to “
take all steps necessary to preserve any and all information” including “
State Audit Criticized For Using Rumors as Allegations
By Mario A. Cortez
An extraordinary audit report analyzing the San Ysidro School District’s (SYSD) financial mismanagement released last week by the California Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) is being criticized for containing several inaccurate claims and allegations.
The report, published last week and taken offline the next day, analyzed SYSD’s activities and contracts from 2012 through last year. Among the subjects of this fiscal review were the use of bond funds and the approval of a solar energy contract.
Two former School Board members and a local businessman contacted FCMAT this week to dispute the report’s findings, and have offered information challenging the report’s conclusions.
Luciana Corrales
A San Ysidro School Board member has failed to disclose her employment and personal income as required by state law.
Luciana Corrales, who was first appointed to the board in June 2014 and then elected to a full 4-year term in November 2014, filed Economic Interest disclosures in July and December 2014. The forms are blank as to her employer and amount of income earned between June 2013 and December 2014.
The forms, officially referred to as Form 700, are required under state law to be filed by all elected officials. The disclosures should include all income, assets, and liabilities with only few exceptions. For instance, income from government entities or a person’s primary residence are not required to be disclosed.
By Mario A. Cortez
Teachers in the San Ysidro School District are calling for the resignation of San Diego County Board of Education (SDCOE) Superintendent Randy Ward and Assistant Superintendent Lora Duzyk, and asking for them to repay teachers’ lost wages.
This Wednesday, a group of San Ysidro teachers gathered at the San Diego County Office of Education to send a message to SDCOE’s board members that Randy Ward and Lora Duzyk have engaged in fraudulent activity at their expense. Teachers held signs demanding money back from the SDCOE.
Grievances from San Ysidro teachers stem from occurrences dating back to 2013, when negotiations for a teacher’s raise were being worked out. At the time, the San Ysidro district was under the fiscal control of the SDCOE, and Ms. Duzyk had complete oversight of their budget.