Who Is Jerry Brown Protecting?

“EC Section 47604.1 requires that charter schools and those that manage charter schools (charter management organizations) comply with key state laws related to transparency and conflict of interest. More specifically, EC Section 47604.1 requires compliance with…the California Public Records Act (open records law)”
- California Department of Education

Jerry Brown has long opposed accountability for charter schools despite the fact that public funds are being used to run these privately run schools. As Governor of California, Brown twice vetoed bills “that would have required charter schools to comply with the state’s open meetings, public records, and conflict of interest laws.” In return, the “state’s scandal-ridden charter-school sector” gave “the Governor a huge round of applause”.

Before Brown’s successor, Gavin Newsom, sold out to the charter school industry, he signed Senate Bill 126, which was essentially similar to the bills that Brown had vetoed. With the current governor’s signature, charter schools and the organizations that manage them were forced to comply with the same regulations that are followed by public schools. This includes providing records from their operations to members of the public under the California Public Records Act. Charter schools now have fewer opportunities to hide fraud and other operational irregularities.

Rather than comply with the law that he opposed, Brown seems to be attempting to ignore it. On April 24, 2022, I emailed a Public Records Act request to the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy (OMI), a charter school founded by Brown where the former governor serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. While the law requires a response within ten days, as of July 13, 2022, none had been received. A copy of the request was then sent to Brown and his fellow directors. These emails were finally acknowledged on August 5, 2022, in a letter stating that OMI “has determined that your request, in part, seeks disclosable records.” This letter also said that “we expect that the public records responsive to your request will be made available by August 19, 2022.” As of today, these records have not been received nor has there been an explanation for the delay.

While Senate Bill 126 was designed to address the “more than $80 million in wasteful and fraudulent spending of public money by California charters” that has been found by state authorities, the information sought from Jerry Brown covers an even more sinister subject. OMI’s sister school, the North Valley Military Institute (NVMI), continues to have allegations of sexual improprieties leveled at it and there are reports that the Oakland school has faced similar problems. The PRA requests documents related to a former administrator at NVMI who was accused of sexual assault to see if the two schools shuffled around staff in the same way that the Catholic church moved pedophile priests to different jurisdictions instead of turning them into the authorities. Information was also sought about accusations leveled against the Oakland school.

The accusations against NVMI have been settled under a veil of secrecy, but the paperwork filed with the court is stunning. The pictures included in this documentation are too graphic to be included here, but they are publicly available (Warning: not safe for work). If Jerry Brown has any additional documentation, he needs to immediately release it so that no further children can be harmed.

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.