Montebello Unified Violated Education Code in Selling
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17th Annual LOS CERRITOS Graduation Pages 8 & 9 Edition! • 86,000 Homes Every Friday • June 22, 2018 • Vol 33, No. 10- HMG-CN INVESTIGATION LAKEWOOD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER'S MONTEBELLO UNIFIED HEALTH OVER HUNGRY FOOD DRIVE VIOLATED EDUCATION CODE IN SELLING SURPLUS PROPERTY LA MIRADA’S COLLEGE TO FORMER DIRECTOR BANNER PROGRAM BY BRIAN HEWS PROMOTES HIGHER A Hews Media Group-Community EDUCATION News investigation has found that high-level personnel inside Montebello BY BRIAN HEWS Unified School District bypassed district policy and sold a surplus vehicle for La Mirada residents will notice new thousands less than its actual worth to street banners along Adelfa Drive in outgoing MUSD Maintenance, Op- HOLDING THE PROJECT SHEPHERD DONATION are (l-r) Lakewood Vice- front of La Mirada High School. erations and Transportation Director Mayor Todd Rogers, Mayor Steve Croft, Project Shepherd Community Services The new George Upegui. Coordinator Caitlin Cariaso, and John Grah, CEO, Lakewood Regional Medical Center. banners were The sale violated several sections of created as part of the California Education Code related a College Banner to the disposition of district surplus Program to honor vehicles. BY TAMMYE MCDUFF the City of Lakewood.” La Mirada High Sources are telling HMG-CN that Grah indicated that donations are School students the Los Angeles District Attorney is For the fifth year in a row, Lakewood still coming in and that LRMC plans on who recently conducting an active investigation and Regional Medical Center held their an- matching them, supplying over 118,000 graduated and has already interviewed several people nual Health Over Hungry Cereal drive. meals. plan to continue David Ramirez involved in the sale. One source un- What started out as a local program to The food program is near and dear their education holds his banner equivocally said that “someone is going ensure no child goes without during the to Grah. He was born and raised in an at a college or summer months has evolved into a na- to jail over this.” area of St. Louis that fell on hard times, university the following year. tional initiative. The vehicle in question was a 2009 “I started learning at a young age how The banners feature a photo of Crown Victoria used by undercover LRMC is part of Tenet Health Care, the graduate, the graduate’s name, a ‘food insecure’ people can be.” MUSD safety officers that was heav- a national health care company of more noteworthy achievement, as well as the In Los Angeles County, more than a ily modified with mileage, according to than 80 facilities and 110,000 employ- college or university they plan to attend. documents, right at 92,000. ees. million people that go to bed every night The class of 2018 is the first gradu- An examination of Kelly Blue Book “About five years ago, a nurse in one not knowing where their next meal will ating class to participate in this new prices showed the vehicle worth be- of our Detroit hospitals noticed when come from. program. tween $4,000 and $6,000 dollars. school was out for the summer, there “This becomes more of a crisis when The idea for the college banners was But the vehicle was sold to Upegui was an influx of children coming into the school ends for the summer because so developed and proposed by the Youth in for only $700. emergency rooms with malnutrition,” many children receive breakfast and Government students at the February 27 Documents obtained by HMG-CN said John Grah, CEO of LRMC, “the lunch while in school,” adds Grah. City Council meeting. via a public records request show an staff began to realize that these children “Project Shepherd receives so much Through the Youth in Govern- effort by Upegui to subvert the process had no place to get their meals.” support from the community and our ment program, La Mirada High School so he could purchase the vehicle for This raised a call across Tenet, and businesses, so we can help those families students have an opportunity to learn thousands less. began the movement to gather food and that are in need,” said Vice Mayor Todd about local government and recommend The documents also show that programs to enhance the community. raise funds for families in need. Rogers, “we are blessed to have Lake- Assistant Superintendent of Human Re- The College Banner Program was “Each year as schools are letting out wood Regional Medical Center who has sources Angel Gallardo signed all sale for the summer, we challenge our em- approved by the City Council and contributed so much to our residents.” and transfer documents, rather than the ployees to raise donations. The program implemented this year in collaboration Community Services Coordinator Superintendent or other personnel. began as a cereal drive, but we quickly with the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified Caitlin Cariaso added that there are ap- Although requested, not included found out that many food banks could School District. with the public record request was not accommodate the massive amounts proximately 350 families that benefit “We are extremely proud to high- any legal notice that the Ford Crown of donations we were gathering,” Grah from Project Shepherd,” we are fortu- light the achievements of our La Mirada Victoria had been advertised for sale by said. nate that we have the capabilities to help High School graduates with this new the MUSD in a newspaper of general “So we decided to have a combination them,” she said. College Banner Program,” says As- circulation. of collected food donations and money If you would like to donate to Project sistant City Manager Anne Haraksin. donations. Today we are very excited to Shepherd, visit the City’s site at http:// “We hope these banners serve as an See MONTEBELLO page 2 donate $20,000 to Project Shepherd and www.lakewoodcity.org. See BANNER page 2 2 Los Cerritos Community News - LosCerritosNews.net To advertise call 562-407-3873 JUNE 22, 2018 CERRITOS SHERIFF’S STATION NOW HAS SEVEN AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READER UNITS BANNER The Cerritos Sheriff’s Station now Continued from page 1 has seven Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) patrol vehicles to inspiration and encouragement for other aid deputies in their daily crime high school students to pursue a college suppression efforts throughout the education or trade.” City of Cerritos. The vehicles have Similar to the “Presidential Por- four roof-mounted, high-resolution, traits” banners and the military banners, infrared digital cameras providing 360 degree coverage and a computer college banners are installed on light that automatically photographs, geo- poles along Adelfa Drive between Fos- tags and instantly checks the license ter Road and Alicante Road. plate number of every vehicle that The college banners will be replaced passes within proximity of the ALPR every year with new La Mirada High cameras. The ALPR system imme- School graduates. diately notifies the patrolling deputy For additional information on the if a scanned license plate belongs College Banner Program, call Commu- to a stolen vehicle, a person with an nity Services at (562) 943-7277. outstanding warrant or other persons of interest. Montebello from page 1 Superintendent Anthony Martinez.” ences to completing the documents and At the time, sources told HMG-CN The entire process violated Cali- sale of the Crown Victoria to Upegui. that Upegui actually wrote the memo. fornia Education Code 17545 which “Sign all X’s, total circled X’s please mandates that selling of equipment must Then an email obtained by HMG-CN sign,” Upegui wrote. He was referring be properly noticed in a newspaper two seemingly confirmed the information. to the transfer documents and Certificate weeks prior to the sale, mandates the Upegui wrote on Saturday June 24, of Title (pink slip) of the car. Gallardo tNOT SATISFIED WITH acceptance of bids, and requires that the 2017, “I spoke with Lloyd and Craig signed next to the three X’s, releasing all YOUR CURRENT HOUSE highest bidder be awarded the equip- along the way trying to get all of the vi- interest in the car to Upegui. PAYMENT? ment. able information for the surplussing (sic) The note then read, “place date on Upegui first pushed for the sale in of said vehicles. Both Lloyd and Craig check,” a strong indication both knew were helpful and thought maybe the tBIG BANK TURNED YOU June 2017, sending a list of surplus beforehand the sale of the car would school buses go to auction and the white DOWN? vehicles via email to Gallardo to be take place to Upegui. fleet go to bid internally as in the past.” approved at the June 29, 2017 Board An examination of the check shows “I have crafted a board action based I can help you with that. meeting. different handwriting in relation to the Interim Superintendent Anthony on a request from Dr. Gallardo today and copied you accordingly.” date on the check. District personnel DeAnna Allensworth Martinez “drafted” a memo describing At the June 29 meeting, Interim Su- subsequently mailed all sale documents Broker - Advisor the proper sale of surplus property to be to Upegui. presented to the Board on June 29. perintendent Anthony Marinez presented Sources are telling HMG-CN that Phone: 562-533-5600 Strangely, the memo was addressed the memo, after which the Board ap- after the sale, but before Upegui took www.CenturionMF.com “To: Interim Superintendent Anthony proved the sale of the surplus property. CA DRE 01443787 possession of the Crown Victoria, the Martinez,” and then “From: Interim Acting quickly after the meet- NMLS 206457 ing, Upegui wrote a check for $700 to district spent $2,000 to “fix up the car.” MUSD and gave it to Gallardo with a HMG-CN has a public records re- note attached; the check was not dated.