WILL PUBLIC EDUCATION SURVIVE?: Part 3 and Part 4 (4 Part Series)

Click on Segment Links Below to watch online

Los Angeles, CA Full Disclosure Network presents Part three and four of the complete series covering the future of Public Education consisting of four half hour shows each with three segments. Here is an insiders view of Public Education featuring long-time Los Angeles Unified School District School Board Member David Tokofsky, who is a teacher and who presided over some of the most tumultuous and challenging years in the nations second largest school District. Presented here are six segments from Part 3 and Part 4 of the series on Streaming Video available here 24/7 and are featured on 47 cable systems in California, Washington D.C. and Massachusetts.

SEGMENT SEVEN: Politics, Power & Influence
(8 min)
According to David Tokofsky, Politics and education are inseparable. “Politics is the influence of other peoples behavior”. The Milken Institute estimates K-12 education in the United States is worth $250 billion. Billionaires Eli Broad, Bill Gates and Michael Milken are involved in Education and School Board governance, accelerating the struggle over power and control, efficiency, productivity, curriculum and instruction.

SEGMENT EIGHT:. “Belmont the Billion Dollar School”
(8 min)
David Tokofsky was a primary critic of LAUSD Belmont Learning Center, he describes how the school was not built to code with no accountability, no arbitration or litigation and acknowledges the same contractors have been rehired to build 170 new schools. Explains why Belmont was not funded by GO Bonds funds and struggles to explain how the District paid for books, desks, teachers and personnel after his parcel tax proposal did not fly.

SEGMENT NINE: “ District Flush With Billions in Bond Money”
(8 min)
David Tokofsky describes the LAUSD attitude toward the $20 billion school construction project as being “Afflicted with Comfort” and asked if the District is being ripped off by unscrupulous contractors once again. He describes the struggle within the District as to who will control the Office of Ethics. The Board has apparently decided the Ethics Office should be located in the Office General Counsel instead of the Office of Inspector General, opting to “build a culture of ethics” rather investigations.

SEGMENT TEN: “ What Is The Primary Mission of Public Education?”
(8 min)
According to Tokofsky, the Public Schools are providing much more than just education. Feeding children breakfast, lunch, counseling, health care, police protection. And, School Construction Program has been billed as an “Economic Stimulus” package to provide jobs, plus LAUSD owes billions for unfunded retirement benefits for teachers. He complains that schools are asked to do more that just educate, without funding.

SEGMENT ELEVEN “ Illegal Immigration Impacts Education”
(8 min)
For years the LAUSD has struggled with Immigrant Rights issues and student boycotts to demonstrate on such issues as their illegal immigration status. Tokofskysays students need to learn in class how to participate in the process and he points to the need to address other issues besides “status” there is the adult education issue.

SEGMENT TWELVE “What Is the Greatest Challenge to Public Education?”
(8 min)
Tokofsky feels that Term Limits should be changed to a rotation of office, that the Board Staff has marginalized the effectiveness of the Board Members. And, he points to “At Large” Districts that limit the scope of Members and result in “unintended consequences” (dilution of power). He feels his greatest accomplishment was instituting Full Day Kindergarten classes and laments that the City Developer Fees are not paid to the District.

How Did Belmont Cost the L A Unified School District A Half $Billion? DVD Documentary Series (Preview 7 min)

Los Angeles, CA. Learn how the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) managed to spend over a half a Billion dollars building the still incomplete (2007) Belmont Learning Center, renamed Vista Hermosa. Now available in a Documentary Collectors Series of 23 DVDs. Watch 7 min preview here.

The Full Disclosure Network® has recorded the historical battle within the L.A. school district that started back in 1994. Fourteen years later the school has never been occupied, partially demolished and under re-construction, with costs mounting.

From start to finish, find out how the L.A. Unified School District got into this mess and hear the participants offer their opinions regarding who was responsible.

“Belmont: The World’s Most Expensive High School” DVD collectors series provides in-depth background of the deep conflict between an out of control school district and unaccountable administrators who, empowered by a political powerful law firm, confounded the issues of conflicting interest. The participants describe the frustration of the investigators who were neutered by a District Attorney whose political ambitions rendered him unable to take action.

THE SERIES:

Comprised of ten interviews with experts each describe their role:

• Planning & Development
• Legal & Financing
• Toxic hazards
• Investigation of fraud.
• Purchase of land
• Failure to prosecute crimes

Each DVD contains two-part interviews with the major players involved, and the series includes two summary programs: “The Best of Belmont” and “The Black Hole of School Construction” and include exclusive footage of the December 2004 demolition of 60 percent of the brand new, never occupied buildings. Click here for a downloadable flyer listing all those interviewed is available here.

Produced by Emmy Award winning Host Leslie Dutton and Producer T. J. Johnston, the series was videotaped originally for cable television and aired on 45 cable systems in California.
The DVDs are available individually or as a set with special prices for institutional organizations. For individual or institutional savings contact Full Disclosure Network® Executive offices at (310) 822-4449 or http://www.fulldisclosure.net/

Toxic L.A. School Belmont Is Back On L A Cable Channel 36 TONIGHT Sunday & Monday

Los Angeles, CA. Due to popular demand and continuing revelations of methane gas and hydrogen sulfide on new development sites in Los Angeles, the Full Disclosure Network® is re-running the two-part series entitled, “Belmont: The Black Hole of School Construction” to be featured tonight on

• L. A. Cable Channel 36
• Sunday, July 29th Part-One at 8 p.m. Part-Two at 8:30 p.m.
• Monday; July 30th, Part One at 4 p.m. Part 2 at 4:30 p.m.

For Internet viewers an exclusive, free ten minute video on the toxic conditions at Belmont can be seen on “On Demand” 24/7, as a public service. Tonight's cable TV presentation features exclusive video footage of all the major players involved in the planning, development, financing and investigations of the half a billion dollar, notorious Belmont Learning Center, in the L. A. Unified School District, (LAUSD) that was built on top of the old Los Angeles oil field.

Belmont Players Featured In The Cable Series:
Steve Cooley , L.A. County District Attorney
David Cartwright, Sr. Partner O'Melveny & Myers, (former outside legal counsel to LAUSD)
Jim McConnell, LAUSD Cheif Facilities Executive
Anthony Patchett, Belmont Prosecutor, Special Asst. D.A. (ret)
Jerry Thornton, LAUSD Interim Inspector General
Don Mullinax, Inspector General L.A. Unified School District
Roger Carrick. Special Legal Counsel to Inspector General
Scott Wildman. Former Chairman CA Legislative Audit Committee
Dominic Shambra, Director Planning & Development LAUSD
Dr. Kaye Kilburn, USC Keck School of Medicine, Edgington Chair (transcript)
Ed Scott, Oil and Gas Expert, Licensed Environmental Assessor

Also offering their comments on the Belmont series are:
Michael Schneider, former President California Board of Accountancy
Tony Beall, Mayor Rancho Santa Margarita, Leader CUSD Recall Trustees Committee

Still incomplete the Belmont public school is now estimated to have cost almost a half a billion dollars after questionable remediation of toxic gases, seven years of investigations, lawsuits and controversy. In the early 2000's the Los Angeles news media ceased covering the Belmont Learning Center debacle, the LAUSD renamed the school "Vista Hermosa" and began plans to to redesign the project. The Full Disclosure Network® (FDN) began documenting the history of the project by interviewing each of the major players at a time when Belmont was only 60% complete and had an estimated cost of $175 million to $228 million at that point in 2003.

"Dead Issue": Most public officials and the news media had pronounced the project a “dead issue" and so did the mainstream media that had ceased following the day to day and on going planning for a new phase. In December of 2004 the Full Disclosure Network® was the only media to cover the demolition in a five minute video of the brand new and never occupied Belmont school buildings being destroyed.

Denied Access to the Site: When LAUSD officials denied FDN access to the site to videotape the demolition, an airplane was rented to capture the costly demolition on tape, noting the dozens of new and unused large airconditioning units were removed and taken by the contractors after having been placed on the roofs by costly helicopters.

A $132 million remediation for methane and hydrogen sulfide gases was planned but it is still uncertain if that has taken place and approval by Department of Toxic Substance Control, State of California was delayed for unknown reasons.

Facilities Chief McConnell Resigns: Following the release Full Disclosure Network's® 2005 series entitled “Belmont: The Black Hole of School Construction” LAUSD's Jim Mc Connell resigned. As Chief Executive of the Facilities Division Mc Connell was featured in the FDN series saying, “the days of Belmont are over”. However, mistaken he was, as the days of Belmont are still to this day, far from finished.

Revelations on the Belmont Project:

• What lawsuit blocked BB Bond funds from being used to build Belmont?
• Why was the site (an old oil field) purchased “as is”?
• How did LAUSD Raise the first $92 million to pay for Belmont?
• Why was construction on Belmont stopped when only 60% complete?
• Who stopped the construction?
• LAUSD had to change State laws to win approval for Belmont, why?

Full Disclosure network® programs are billed as “the news behind the news” for the past fifteen years. In 2002 the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented a local public affairs Emmy to host Leslie Dutton for the special series entitled “L. A.’s War Against Terrorism." Featured on over 45 cable systems and the Internet, worldwide on http://www.fulldisclosure.net/, Channels and air times are listed on the website

Belmont: the Black Hole of School Construction

Los Angeles, CA. A FREE three (3) minute video presentation of the Full Disclosure Network™ series entitled, “Belmont: The Black Hole of School Construction” will be available starting Monday; January 23, 2006 on the Internet at the URL: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/444-5_belmontblackhole_preview.php and can be accessed “On Demand” 24/7, as a public service. This preview of a new two-part series, features exclusive video footage of all the major players involved in the planning, development, financing and investigations of the notorious Belmont Learning Center, in the L. A. Unified School District, they are:

• Steve Cooley , L.A. County District Attorney
• Jim McConnell, LAUSD Cheif Facilities Executive
• Anthony Patchett, Belmont Prosecutor, Special Asst. D.A. (ret)
• Don Mullinax, Inspector General L.A. Unified School District
• Roger Carrick. Special Legal Counsel to Inspector General
• Scott Wildman. Chair. CA Legislative Audit Committee
• Dominic Shambra, Dir. Planning & Development LAUSD
• David Cartwright, Sr. Partner O'Melveny & Myers
• Dr. Kaye Kilburn, USC Keck School of Medicine, Edgington Chair

The still incomplete public school is now estimated to have cost almost a half a billion dollars after seven years of investigations, lawsuits and controversy. When the Los Angeles news media ceased covering the Belmont Learning Center debacle the Full Disclosure Network™ (FDN) jumped at the opportunity to cover the story, on videotape, as a PUBLIC SERVICE. Belmont was only 60% complete and had an estimated cost of $175 million to $228 million. Most public officials and the news media had pronounced the project a “dead issue". That could not have been farther from the truth.

Following the LAUSD Board vote to complete the Belmot project costs continue to escalate. Demolition of the new and never occupied buildings located on an earthquake fault and costly re-reconstruction began in December of 2004. A one hundred-thirty-two million dollar million remediation for the methane and hydrogen sulfide gases has been planned but as of December 2005, not yet approved by the State of California.

Just fifteen days after the 2005 Full Disclosure Network™ series entitled “Belmont: The Black Hole of School Construction” was shown on Southern California Cable channels, Jim Mc Connell announced his intention to leave the LAUSD. As Chief Executive of the Facilities Division Mc Connell was featured in the FDN series saying, “the days of Belmont are over”. However, mistaken he was, as the days of Belmont were far from finished.

Here are a few of the revelations in Belmont: The Black Hole of school construction:

• What lawsuit blocked BB Bond funds from being used to build Belmont?
• Why was the site (an old oil field) purchased “as is”?
• How did LAUSD Raise the first $92 million to pay for Belmont?
• Why was construction on Belmont stopped when only 60% complete?
• Who stopped the construction?
• LAUSD had to change State laws to win approval for Belmont, why?

Full Disclosure network™ produces public affairs programming, billed as “the news behind the news” since 1992. In 2002 the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented a public affairs Emmy to host Leslie Dutton for the special series entitled “L. A.’s War Against Terrorism. Featured on over 40 cable systems and the Internet, worldwide on http://www.fulldisclosure.net/ , Channels and air times are listed on the website