Acting on this development, Tate has renewed his formal complaint to the Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. In a letter sent yesterday, Tate stated:
In light of the foregoing, I respectfully request that the Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) commence a formal investigation into the allegations and claims set forth in my letters to the CAG and OCGJ. If some or all of the allegations and claims are true, then CUSD is out millions and millions of dollars which it could desperately use given the financial crisis CUSD and other school districts are facing as a result of the statewide financial crisis. The OCDA is uniquely qualified to investigate SJHHS and CUSD given its prior, extensive experience with CUSD, and its involvement with the fuel pipeline issue at SJHHS.
Tate's letter also provides background regarding the status of a complaint filed with the California Attorney General and candidate for Governor, Jerry Brown. Tate describes being notified by a Deputy Attorney General that the complaint was forwarded to the General Counsel or Chief Counsel of the California Department of Education for investigation. Contacted by me, Tate stated that CDE has not contacted or responded to him regarding the allegations.
It is not surprising that CDE would lack enthusiasm for this investigation. The complaint alleges that senior members of the CDE staff were complicit in decisions which led to excessive spending, diversion of public funds, cover-up of site deficiencies and general bungling associated with the SJHHS project. Tate's complaint specifically mentions Kathleen Moore, Deputy Director of Public School Construction at CDE, and Fred Yeager, her deputy.
Ms. Moore was appointed by Jack O'Connell, Superintendent of Public Instruction, yet another Democratic Gubernatorial prospect! Aside from leading the California public education establishment, O'Connell is a member of the State Allocation Board (SAB), which bears responsibility for allocating the state funds that were misspent at SJHHS. During the period of SJHHS development, Kathleen Moore was O'Connell's "designated representative" to the SAB, even acting on his behalf at SAB meetings. Other members of the SAB include Tom Torlakson, termed-out State Assemblyman who is an announced candidate to replace O'Connell as Superintendent.
Many months before Tate filed his complaint with Jerry Brown, I personally wrote to Kathleen Moore to request that an investigation be conducted into the actions of her staff. Moore never responded to me directly, however I later learned that she forwarded my complaint to former CUSD Superintendent Woodrow Carter, for reasons I can only imagine. Read more!
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