Val Verde Unified School District

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Val Verde Unified School District is one of two public education governing bodies in Moreno Valley, California which stretches into Perris, California. It currently operates 23 schools and is the neighbor to its larger counterpart, the Moreno Valley Unified School District.

In 2007, Val Verde Unified School District was brought under question by the State of California for the misuse of state funds and failure to report independent funding.

Contents

[edit] Schools

[edit] Preschools

[edit] Elementary Schools

[edit] Middle Schools

[edit] High Schools

[edit] School Board

  • Dr. C. Fred Workman - Superintendent
  • Marla Kirkland - Vice President
  • Stacey Guzman - President
  • Wraymond Sawyerr - Member
  • JoAnn McAnlis - Clerk
  • Shelly Yarbrough - Member

[edit] Val Verde Unified GATE Advisory Members

  • Victoria Grehn, Site Facilitator
  • Michelle Salmon, Parent
  • Renonah McGee, Parent
  • Sarah Peterson, Site Facilitator
  • Wendy Pospichal, Principal
  • Davina Schoulten, Site Facilitator
  • Sandra Wilkerson, Parent
  • Valerie Solorio, Parent
  • Bill Thompson, District Coordinator

[edit] Bankruptcy risk

VVUSD claimed that they used $53 million for construction and equipment. The large amounts of money spent on these amenities could lead them to possible bankruptcy. [1] Citrus Hill High School, the newest and most bustling high school, has been on the receiving end for many of said amenities, such as a football field with artificial turf.

[edit] Legal Battle vs. The State of California

An investigation on VVUSD school funding began when audits performed by the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) found inconsistentcies in financial aid papers filed by Val Verde administrators. A top official at the state’s Office of Public School Construction said her office was looking into whether there were any "material inaccuracies" or false certifications in the paperwork the Perris-area district submitted in recent years to get financial aid to build its schools. [2]

Further investigations by OPSC found that VVUSD had recklessly spent state funds on the purchasing of unneeded amenities, such as: large weight rooms, artificial turf, locker room whirlpools, helicopter pads, and elaborate sports arenas.

The Val Verde Unified School District has been a financial hardship district since the beginning of the School Facilities Program. In the last review of their financial hardship status renewal, OPSC indicated that the district had approximately $90 million available in COPs to contribute towards their next projects.

The District filed an appeal to the SAB, arguing that the funds were not available because the grants were inadequate and they were forced to pass COPs to complete and improve previously approved financial hardship projects [3]. On July 25, 2007, the State Allocation Board ruled against Val Verde Unified with a vote of 9-0. The board further ruled that VVUSD must repay the State for past-funding and that they'll no longer be able to self-certify their projects.

[edit] Further Appeals against The State of California

Val Verde Unified School District stumbled in its lawsuit against state officials over school construction funding, when a Riverside County judge rejected the district's request for a court order against the state on February 29, 2008. Spencer Covert, an attorney for the district argued that school construction money, given by the state to districts in financial hardship, isn't enough to build complete schools, and that districts such as Val Verde shouldn't be punished for borrowing money to cover shortfalls in state funds [4].

But Covert failed to sway County Judge Edward D. Webster. The judge tore into the district's claim that state agencies that disbursed the $340 million had discriminated against Val Verde by depriving its students of enough money to house them in adequate schools.

"I saw absolutely nothing in your material to suggest that the Val Verde school district was treated any differently than any other school district," Webster said. "... As I went through this I'm saying to myself, 'We're wasting attorney fee monies that could be spent on educating the kids here,' and I thought to myself, this is ridiculous."

As a hardship district, Val Verde has received $340 million in state school construction money since 1999 -- the second biggest infusion of state cash among all California school districts. It was supposed to cover 100 percent of construction costs but wasn't enough, the district argued.

The fact that Val Verde got a third of a billion dollars from the state to build or upgrade campuses was not lost on Webster, who remarked that this was not "ungenerous."

[edit] Notes

  • Victoriano Elementary has been acclaimed as one of the best schools in the country, having been awarded the 2006 Distinguished School Award and the 2006 President's Award.
  • The most recent high school, Citrus Hill High School, has hosted the Superintendent's Recognition Award Ceremonies since 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links