Residents Explode on Superintendent, Centinela Valley High School Board

Well, I see nothing has changed back in the Centinela Valley Union High School District. Cronyism, greed, malfeasance, corruption, machine politics and you-name-it still permeates the district. The CVUHSD includes Hawthorne, Lennox and Lawndale. From what's happening now, the district could include the City of Bell.

I used to live in the Hawthorne area (I attended Hawthorne High School) and once ran for the CVUSHD School Board in 1977. If I hadn't run, the election would have been cancelled.

According to The Blaze:

A school superintendent in California got an earful earlier this week when parents were given the chance during an emergency meeting to question his supposedly excessive salary. 

“You should all step down and walk away from this! This is ridiculous! This is nuts, this is crazy! I give my wife everything! I do anything I can for my wife! I’m sleeping with her! Who are you sleeping with?” one man shouted during the meeting. 

Jose Fernandez, who oversees the Centinela Valley Union High School District in Lawndale, Calif., reportedly earned $663,000 in 2013, according to KCAL-TV. 

His district includes only three high schools with a combined total of 6,500 students. 

The district also reportedly floated Fernandez a loan of more than $900,000 at 2 percent interest over 40 years. The loan was granted at a time when the superintendent had already declared bankruptcy.

It appears that the school district didn't learn anything from the corruption scandal of the City of Bell. $663k for a school superintendent?! Plus a 2% loan for $900k?!

Above, the Centinela Valley Union High School District
School Board. Which of these members voted for
Superintendent Fernandez's lavish salary, loan and perks?

Yes, this is like the City of Bell scandal all over again!

To read more, go here. 

Bell Mayor and City Council Members Arrested In Sweep

Under arrest. Former Bell city manager Robert Rizzo is led in handcuffs (above).

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that eight past and present Bell, California city officials have been arrested in a sweep in connection with the salary scandal:

Former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, whose high salary sparked the outrage that led to the investigations of the city, was among those arrested in the sweep. No details have been released, but a source not authorized to speak publicly about the case said that Rizzo; former Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia; Mayor Oscar Hernandez; Councilmembers Luis Artiga, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal; and former Councilmembers George Cole and Victor Bello were among those arrested.

To read the full story, go here.

Wonder what the party affiliations are of these corrupt officials? According to the Orange County Register:

Bell's city council is made up of five elected members: Mayor Oscar Hernandez, Vice Mayor Teresa Jacobo, and council members Luis Artiga, George Mirabal and Lorenzo Velez. According to our review of voter registration records, Ms. Jacobo, Mr. Artiga, Mr. Mirabal and Mr. Velez are registered Democrats. There are multiple voter registration records for the name Oscar Hernandez, but Mayor Hernandez has endorsed a number of Democratic candidates, including most recently Hector De La Torre for Insurance Commissioner in the June 8 Democratic Primary and Luiz Marquez, a candidate for the 50th Assembly District Democratic Primary.

All Democrats! Who'd have thunk?!