Reply #23: Eli Broad, Walmart, Hewlett, Ford Foundation and Wasserman Foundation [View All]

[JDPriestly]

are behind this.

This is shocking.

By Howard Blume
December 16, 2009


Private money is paying for key senior staff positions in the Los Angeles Unified School District -- providing needed expertise at a bargain rate, but also raising questions about transparency and the direction of reformsin the nation's second-largest school system.

The highest-level outside-funded position belongs to Matt Hill, whose salary is covered by the foundation of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad. Hill is overseeing the district's high-profile effort through which groups inside or outside L.A. Unified could take over new and low-performing schools.

The pay of more than a dozen others is funded by a nearly $4.4-million grant from the Wasserman Foundation, a $1.2-million grant from the Walton Family Foundation and smaller amounts from the Hewlett and the Ford foundations.

These employees and consultants are developing a new system to evaluate teachers and administrators; streamlining district operations; and developing a more transparent budget and enhanced student data.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd16-2009dec16,0,298804.story