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Woodrow Carter, In Your Facial
Tuesday, Mar. 3 2009 @ 11:45PM
By Daffodil J. Altan in Breaking News, School Daze
 |
But documents and records obtained by the Weekly reveal that one of the "sponsors" that paid for Carter's retreat later received a lucrative architectural contract with CUSD.
The retreat--which Carter should have filed as a gift in state public disclosure forms--happened months before he became mired in controversy over a $58,000 pay raise, a $400,000 severance package and allegations that he negotiated a teachers'-union contract without board approval. The board put the superintendent on paid administrative leave in early January.
Reached at his home in Dana Point, Carter declined to comment on any matter related to CUSD. "It's an ongoing issue," he said. "I've said before there'll be a time and place to make statements, but not before we have some kind of action."
"Susan," a district parent who wishes to remain anonymous, became suspicious of a second similar retreat after noticing Carter's mid-week absence last July and asking a board member where he was. "I was told that he was at a health and wellness institute in Napa," she says. "I said, 'Why is he there? They said, 'I don't know.' It didn't sound like a legitimate trip," she says. "What was he learning? Who was paying for it?"
After making public-records requests with the district, the results of which she has provided to the Weekly,
she discovered that the event--the 2nd Annual School Administrators
Health and Wellness Institute--was hosted by Global Business Education,
a one-man consulting firm run out of the home of Tom Davis, a former
science teacher, in San Diego, and the same company that hosted the
first getaway in Temecula in 2007. His company, which isn't registered
with the state or the county of San Diego and has no website,
specializes in "on-line virtual school development," according to a
LinkedIn profile. There is no mention of health- or wellness-related
work or consulting.
The cost to the district to send Carter away to the first institute in Temecula in 2007 was $200. The rest of that weekend--including two nights at the inn at $209 per room, all meals, wine tastings, private spa and facial treatments and golf games--would be paid for by Institute sponsors. One of those sponsors was an architectural firm called WLC Architects, which holds dozens of school construction contracts around the state, and which donated $181,000 to public school construction bond measure campaigns last year.
According to public records Susan provided to the Weekly, including the conference agenda, Carter and the dozen or so other superintendents from around the state (no others from Orange County) who attended the retreat were encouraged to take a "Relaxation Break" on Saturday, Oct. 27 by indulging in scheduled, in-room spa and facial treatments for two hours before the evening's "Networking and Wine Tasting" session, all on the dime of WLC and the handful of other institute sponsors. Several months later, the district awarded WLC Architects a lucrative contract--at Carter's urging.
About a week and half after the first wine-country excursion in 2007, Carter stated in his Nov. 9, 2007 memo to the board that he planned to search for and hire a new master architect to handle district projects and a huge school facilities report (known as the Facilities Master Plan), which had been initiated by interim superintendent Chuck McCully in 2006. (McCully held the post for a few months after now-indicted former superintendent James Fleming left in 2006).
The only problem with Carter's idea was that three architectural firms for these projects had already been vetted and hired by the district in 2006, after McCully had put an end to the district's long relationship with a single firm and divided it into three regions. Susan, who was on a school facilities subcommittee in her area, says she found the decision to replace the three firms with a new firm unusual. "We'd been holding committee meetings for months with these firms and making progress by assessing what each school needed," she says. "It made no sense to suddenly get rid of them."
In his notes to the board, Carter stated on Nov. 9, 2007 that his interest in looking for a new architect was to get "new eyeballs on this procedure, someone we hire without any luggage in the past."
By early February 2008, in one of his memos to the trustees, Carter said that he had met with five architectural firms and had narrowed down the choices to one firm for the Master Plan services contract. He announced his first choice, WLC Architects, at the Feb. 25 board meeting and recommended that the board approve a draft contract with the company, which the board did in a 6-0 vote.
On April 21, 2008 the board voted 6-1 (with Marlene Draper dissenting) to approve the contract with WLC, which would begin with an initial contract of close to $1 million for a Facilities Master Plan proposal. According to the board minutes, just before this vote was taken, Carter also recommended that Don Hensley, of WLC, "our Master Architect", be appointed as the architect for the design of three theaters at three different high schools (with contracts between $2-3 million for each school). The board checked with legal counsel who said it was okay to appoint WLC in this case without going out for bids. WLC won both the Master Plan and the theater contracts in one vote.
Carter never disclosed--in his memos to the board or in the public meeting agenda item--whether or not he had met representatives of WLC in Temecula, or that they had helped pay for his weekend getaway. Board president Ellen Addonizio says she was never informed that WLC Architects was a sponsor of the retreats. "This information was provided to the board within the last two months," she said in an e-mail.
The second institute, held at the Silverado Resort in Napa in July 2008, was focused on "Taking Care of YOU!" according to the invitation e-mail sent to Carter's office, and cost the district $1,150 in conference fees, rental car and parking for Carter. Again, sponsors paid for wine tastings, stress lectures, facials and for a "Jaff's Estate Reception, Dinner and Star Gazing" on July 23, 2008.
According to the records Susan obtained, Carter also double-dipped for meal costs on the Napa trip. He billed the district for $90 in meal costs even though WLC and the other sponsors had already footed the bill for all meals. Carter had no speaking or panel session role, so both trips would have been considered gifts, according to state ethics laws, and would have required public disclosure because he received more than $50 in gifts over the weekend. In his disclosure form for 2007, Carter reported no gifts. The forms for 2008, which would include the Napa trip, have not yet been filed.
According to district records, Carter double-dipped on several other occasions between late 2007 and 2008, and received reimbursements for meals and per diem that were covered in the conferences he was attending.
In late 2008, Leadership Associates, the search firm that recruited Carter for CUSD, invited Carter to a Superintendent's luncheon in October 2008. He had the option of driving to the Airport Marriott in Ontario on Oct. 8 for the meeting or flying to Oakland on Oct. 16. Carter opted to go to the Oakland meeting and stayed through the weekend so that he could attend a personal meeting on Friday regarding an old lawsuit he's involved in from his administrator days in Oakland. Leadership Associates reimbursed him $249 for his airfare. Because public disclosure reports have not yet been filed, it remains to be seen if Carter will report the airfare as a gift.
On Nov. 13, 2008 the superintendent's assistant, Heather Wheeler, sent an e-mail to the board and explained that, "due to the current budget crisis, Supt. Carter has directed me to cancel all reservations for the CSBA conference." The California State Board Association conference would have cost $195 per board member. But Carter himself continued to travel: Just a month earlier, the district had reimbursed him $695 for a superintendent's conference in Northern California.
"It's a perfect picture of how out-of-control this is," Susan says. "You've got this guy with a huge salary going to Napa Valley on wine tastings while at the same time he's telling you he doesn't know how he's going to fund classrooms."
Editorial fellow Spencer Kornhaber contributed to this report.
The cost to the district to send Carter away to the first institute in Temecula in 2007 was $200. The rest of that weekend--including two nights at the inn at $209 per room, all meals, wine tastings, private spa and facial treatments and golf games--would be paid for by Institute sponsors. One of those sponsors was an architectural firm called WLC Architects, which holds dozens of school construction contracts around the state, and which donated $181,000 to public school construction bond measure campaigns last year.
According to public records Susan provided to the Weekly, including the conference agenda, Carter and the dozen or so other superintendents from around the state (no others from Orange County) who attended the retreat were encouraged to take a "Relaxation Break" on Saturday, Oct. 27 by indulging in scheduled, in-room spa and facial treatments for two hours before the evening's "Networking and Wine Tasting" session, all on the dime of WLC and the handful of other institute sponsors. Several months later, the district awarded WLC Architects a lucrative contract--at Carter's urging.
About a week and half after the first wine-country excursion in 2007, Carter stated in his Nov. 9, 2007 memo to the board that he planned to search for and hire a new master architect to handle district projects and a huge school facilities report (known as the Facilities Master Plan), which had been initiated by interim superintendent Chuck McCully in 2006. (McCully held the post for a few months after now-indicted former superintendent James Fleming left in 2006).
The only problem with Carter's idea was that three architectural firms for these projects had already been vetted and hired by the district in 2006, after McCully had put an end to the district's long relationship with a single firm and divided it into three regions. Susan, who was on a school facilities subcommittee in her area, says she found the decision to replace the three firms with a new firm unusual. "We'd been holding committee meetings for months with these firms and making progress by assessing what each school needed," she says. "It made no sense to suddenly get rid of them."
In his notes to the board, Carter stated on Nov. 9, 2007 that his interest in looking for a new architect was to get "new eyeballs on this procedure, someone we hire without any luggage in the past."
By early February 2008, in one of his memos to the trustees, Carter said that he had met with five architectural firms and had narrowed down the choices to one firm for the Master Plan services contract. He announced his first choice, WLC Architects, at the Feb. 25 board meeting and recommended that the board approve a draft contract with the company, which the board did in a 6-0 vote.
On April 21, 2008 the board voted 6-1 (with Marlene Draper dissenting) to approve the contract with WLC, which would begin with an initial contract of close to $1 million for a Facilities Master Plan proposal. According to the board minutes, just before this vote was taken, Carter also recommended that Don Hensley, of WLC, "our Master Architect", be appointed as the architect for the design of three theaters at three different high schools (with contracts between $2-3 million for each school). The board checked with legal counsel who said it was okay to appoint WLC in this case without going out for bids. WLC won both the Master Plan and the theater contracts in one vote.
Carter never disclosed--in his memos to the board or in the public meeting agenda item--whether or not he had met representatives of WLC in Temecula, or that they had helped pay for his weekend getaway. Board president Ellen Addonizio says she was never informed that WLC Architects was a sponsor of the retreats. "This information was provided to the board within the last two months," she said in an e-mail.
The second institute, held at the Silverado Resort in Napa in July 2008, was focused on "Taking Care of YOU!" according to the invitation e-mail sent to Carter's office, and cost the district $1,150 in conference fees, rental car and parking for Carter. Again, sponsors paid for wine tastings, stress lectures, facials and for a "Jaff's Estate Reception, Dinner and Star Gazing" on July 23, 2008.
According to the records Susan obtained, Carter also double-dipped for meal costs on the Napa trip. He billed the district for $90 in meal costs even though WLC and the other sponsors had already footed the bill for all meals. Carter had no speaking or panel session role, so both trips would have been considered gifts, according to state ethics laws, and would have required public disclosure because he received more than $50 in gifts over the weekend. In his disclosure form for 2007, Carter reported no gifts. The forms for 2008, which would include the Napa trip, have not yet been filed.
According to district records, Carter double-dipped on several other occasions between late 2007 and 2008, and received reimbursements for meals and per diem that were covered in the conferences he was attending.
In late 2008, Leadership Associates, the search firm that recruited Carter for CUSD, invited Carter to a Superintendent's luncheon in October 2008. He had the option of driving to the Airport Marriott in Ontario on Oct. 8 for the meeting or flying to Oakland on Oct. 16. Carter opted to go to the Oakland meeting and stayed through the weekend so that he could attend a personal meeting on Friday regarding an old lawsuit he's involved in from his administrator days in Oakland. Leadership Associates reimbursed him $249 for his airfare. Because public disclosure reports have not yet been filed, it remains to be seen if Carter will report the airfare as a gift.
On Nov. 13, 2008 the superintendent's assistant, Heather Wheeler, sent an e-mail to the board and explained that, "due to the current budget crisis, Supt. Carter has directed me to cancel all reservations for the CSBA conference." The California State Board Association conference would have cost $195 per board member. But Carter himself continued to travel: Just a month earlier, the district had reimbursed him $695 for a superintendent's conference in Northern California.
"It's a perfect picture of how out-of-control this is," Susan says. "You've got this guy with a huge salary going to Napa Valley on wine tastings while at the same time he's telling you he doesn't know how he's going to fund classrooms."
Editorial fellow Spencer Kornhaber contributed to this report.
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Most …
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Another Gabacho Bloque-Head [¡Ask a Mexican!] On labor unions, bumper stickers, ATM cards and the Mexican N-word
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03/19/10 5:16am -
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BestOf
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-
ALL EARS
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-
DEEP-FRIED FELLOWSHIP
The meatless meet-and-greets that are OC's Lenten fish fries. BY EDWIN GOEI
-
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The 88 open for and back up Ray Davies. BY ARRISSIA OWEN TURNER
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The bitch would be the West Coast Chopper... More >>
- Lt. Dan Choi of Tustin Arrested for "Don't Ask, Don't... Fri., Mar 19 '10 @ 10:49AM
- Tweets From the Park!Fri., Mar 19 '10 @ 10:35AM
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-
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- Peruvian, Part 3Fri., Mar 19 '10 @ 10:30AM
- Happy St. Joseph's Day!Fri., Mar 19 '10 @ 9:00AM
- One Blogger's Quest To Eat Every Nasi Bungkus In LAFri., Mar 19 '10 @ 7:52AM
- LA Times on the Zankou Chicken StoryThu., Mar 18 '10 @ 5:19PM
News »
Orange Sunshine
by NICK SCHOU
Steve Hodgson never forgot the mischievous grin on his new co-worker’s... More >>
- Lt. Dan Choi of Tustin Arrested for "Don't Ask,...Fri Mar 19, @ 10:49AM
- Tweets From the Park!Fri Mar 19, @ 10:35AM
- Michael Barragan, OC Homicide No. 7: Executed at a...Fri Mar 19, @ 9:26AM
Music »
- Gettin' Made: Stamp it Up!Fri Mar 19, @ 10:00AM
- Top 10 Albums Played on KUCI from 3/8-14Fri Mar 19, @ 8:50AM
- Universal Drops CD Prices to $10, Lady Gaga Sued...Fri Mar 19, @ 8:03AM
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CUSD watcher says:
Thank you for the revealing article about Mr. Carter. The four reform-minded members of the board (Addonizio, Winsten, Palazzo and Christensen) are carefully moving toward his dismissal, but I see no reason to delay his departure. He lacks leadership skills and integrity, and no one seems able to articulate any benefit of his presence in CUSD.
Great job of investigative reporting, and it's too bad the Register isn't doing the same.
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 10:55AM
- says:
Good Lord!
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 11:50AM
Hank says:
Let's check to see who else around the CUSD "Cabinet" was absent during these "retreats".
How does CUSD keep finding these guys?
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 11:54AM
CUSD Mom says:
Great work Daffodil and Spencer! Unbelievable that while Carter was pretending to be concerned about the multi-million dollar deficit resulting in devastating cuts to our kids' classrooms, he was out using his position (and taxpayer dollars) to get facials, private winery tours, dinners and tastings, then rewarding the lobbyists who paid for it with multi-million dollar contracts. What a creep. I hope the DA goes after him for abuse of taxpayer dollars.
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 2:51PM
Anonymous says:
Lets not rush into judgement! For example, it has already been proven that the board gave Carter the go ahead to settle the teachers contract for 08-09 as status quo but this writer still wants you to believe that Carter negotiated the contract behind the board's back. Just ask Anna Bryson who admitted that they knew ahead of time but obviously this Daffodil does not believe in writing the truth!
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 9:10PM
Much To Do About Nothing says:
I can't believe how much time and effort it has taken "Susan" and Daffodil to give us all of this non-important information!!! If either of them or anyone else would have taken the time to see how business is done in ALL walks of life--including the running of school districts, which need the services of other businesses and services, they would have found that this is no big deal!!! Even the District's attorney said that WLC could get the contract with no need to go to bid!!! If you think that SDG & E or Edison, The Gas Company, any of the water districts, and most other services the District contracts with don't spend money to "wine & dine" school superintendents and deputy & assistant superintendents on a regular basis, then you're hiding your head in the sand. Grow up!!! The CUSD School Board has more important work to do right now (do the words "massive budget cuts" ring a bell???) than worry about a couple of hundred dollars spent or about how a company was able to get a contract with the District. Superintendent Carter was the best thing to happen to CUSD in a LONG time, and the current Board and their supporters have helped our District become a laughing stock of the whole state!!!
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 9:20PM
Bitz says:
Did you know principals cannot spend one dollar on food for faculty meetings but the Board has a catered meal before every meeting which adds up to thousands of dollars annually?
Did anyone attend the Board Meeting where the cell tower contracts were discussed. A lot of political pressure from the Board to ensure that a "local' who is connected to Republican party officials gets the contract. Listen to the recording.
I have heard that Board members call the legal firm they use constantly for advice they could get from staff. Of course, it costs upwards of $200 per hour to talk to the lawyers. Any way to track those costs?
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 9:39PM
Realist says:
What do cell tower contracts and legal firms have to do with the report about Carter breaking the law? It seems to me a superintendent breaking the law is very "important". I suppose the Carter apologist thinks that ex-supe Fleming's indictment on multiple felony counts was also "non-important"?
No wonder this school district is such a mess!
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 10:32PM
dead man's facial says:
Why was Carter using his expense account for this at all? A seminar entitled "Taking Care of YOU" at taxpayers expense? Please!
Didn't Carter say in his now famous insubordinate speech to the board, they no one could "take" his integrity?
Apparently it can be massaged out of from him.
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 4 2009 @ 10:49PM
Anonymous says:
Much To Do About Nothing????
CUSD parent knows that competing firms' fees for Master Planning Services for which Carter recommended the Board approve a WLC $1,000,000 Master Planning Fee were less than $200,000!! An $800,000 difference while the District was laying off 231 teachers!!! Criminal!!!!!
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 9:50AM
Bob Jenkins says:
It's very sad to see this school district is STILL infected with a "culture of corruption."
Despite the indictment of the superintendent and his assistant superintendent, multiple criminal and grand jury investigations, numerous official rebukes from the O.C. District Attorney, two recall campaigns, and three lopsided elections that resulted in the removal from office of all seven corrupt "old guard" trustees...STILL the highest ranking administrators in this school district have been abusing their power, disrespecting the taxpayers, are perpetuating a lawless culture of corruption.
The highest ranking administrators and union leaders in this district perpetuate and actually celebrate this culture of corruption. They excuse blatant corruption and lawlessness without blinking an eye and dismiss every offense because "it's all for the kids." They show outright contempt for the taxpayers and families of CUSD and use the school district's resources as their own personal piggy bank. Selfish bastards! Enough is enough!
Carter has been shown to be a dishonest, corrupt individual (for many reasons not mentioned in this new article). He should be reported to the O.C. District Attorney and the FPPC, and the Board should fire him for cause ASAP.
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 12:40PM
livininoc says:
how weird that people actually defend this guy. The way they defend him is even weirder: 'everyone's doing it so why not him' and 'spending tax payer money is no big deal when there's such a big deficit'. That doesn't even make sense.
who are these people? I hope there not teaching the kids.
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 12:45PM
Anonymous says:
The people defending him are very likely district employees whose bloated salaries and benefits Carter protected - more "quid pro quo". Unfortunately, there are still quite a few left over from the corrupt Fleming administration.
The only silver lining to this budget deficit is that the reform trustees now have an oppportunity to weed out corrupt administrators.
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 12:56PM
Anonymous 2 says:
Hmm. The Reform Board hired this guy, didn't they?
Let's face it. They put him on leave because their handlers told them to. Parents, probably working at the direction of the trustees like little moles, have pored through hundreds and hundreds of documents, receipts and emails over a two year period.
This is the best they have. AND this might be explainable. The double dipping? Maybe he had lunch away from the conference that day. I hope our reform trustees don't pay expenses without receipts.
As for the architect, we don't even know if he met the guy there. The event could have had 100 sponsors. Anyone who has worked in industry knows there's certain firms that cater to public entitites and their work.
This is just a cheap shot.
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 4:12PM
Oh puh-leeze says:
...AND this might be explainable. The double dipping? Maybe he had lunch away from the conference that day. I hope our reform trustees don't pay expenses without receipts.
As for the architect, we don't even know if he met the guy there. The event could have had 100 sponsors. Anyone who has worked in industry knows there's certain firms that cater to public entitites and their work...
yeah, and maybe pigs fly.
Hey, if that's the kind of "catering" so-called public servants get, sign me up! I'd like to get something more than just being stuck with paying the $324,000 tab for this crook...
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 4:26PM
Howard be my name says:
'The Reform Board hired this guy, didn't they?'
Not. He was hired by the *old* board majority.
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 4:46PM
Bitz says:
I always thought Carter was a metrosexual.
But who he knew indulged in that practice on company time?!
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 6:52PM
Anonymous says:
Bloated, salaries? You people are morons. I have a friend who is a teacher in CUSD and she has been teaching for 23 years with a masters degree and she makes $88,000.00. Is that a bloated salary. Also, Bob Jenkins you should know facts before you attack the teachers. THEY HAVE NO SAY! Why dont you people attend one of the local high schools and see how hard these teachers work without much input from their superiors. Between special education costs and illiegal immigrants, it's no wonder there is no more money for our schools.
Posted on Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 7:49PM
Hey Idiots says:
I am amazed at all the money that has been *WASTED* on the idiotic recall efforts and alleged corruption charges. All of that and this is what we get. Dr. Fleming won't be convicted because he didn't do anything wrong. My god he was superitendent for what, 20 years??? You have to be a complete moron to think there is any merit, WHATSOEVER in the charges against him and Susan M.
It makes me sick that so many people whine and complain about this district when it's one of the most amazing districts in the country. My god if you're so worried about the children why don't you stop complaining and go home to spend some time with your kids instead of blaming all your problems on administrators.
Where's Dr. Fleming's number when we need him?
Posted on Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 9:28AM
bob says:
Carter should be invited to speak in the next Board meeting where all Trustees are present . He should be able to reply to all of these allegations. Right now all it of this smells like one organized propaganda and smear campaign. This is playbook. Drum beat starts, smear is leaked, person is hang without a trial. Evil at works again.
Posted on Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 2:10PM
Bitz says:
Carter doesn't need an invite to address the board and community. He can do it at any board meeting just like anyone else. He also was asked to give his input for this piece. He declined.
He has no interest in communicating with anyone.
Posted on Friday, Mar. 6 2009 @ 8:22PM
john q. citizen says:
Believe non of what you hear and half of what you see, unless it's in print, then don't believe any of it. Facts don't lie so judgement should be withheld until the facts are presented.
Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 25 2009 @ 2:53PM