CCAP’s June 18-21 California Charter School Authorizers Conference marks the next phase of its broad-based initiative to better prevent, detect, and prosecute fraud in public schools.
The opening plenary session at the conference will feature a panel discussion of the CCAP-initiated Anti-Fraud Task Force’s (AFTF) recommendations. The panel will include Kevin Fannan, the former San Diego County Assistant District Attorney, who helped fellow panelist and task force member Leon Schorr bring the operators of A3 Education to justice for stealing at least $400 million in state school funds. At the 2022 Charter School Authorizer’s conference, Fannan described how the A3 scandal unfolded and warned that California’s public education system remained vulnerable.
The AFTF released its report in April 2024. Protecting California Public Schools Against Fraud the Charter School Sector & Beyond contains 20 recommendations designed to strengthen the capacity of California’s public school sector to identify potential fraud, improve the auditing process, provide clear processes on what to do if theft is suspected, reduce vulnerabilities in the state’s school funding system, and support more aggressive prosecution of those who commit public school fraud.
The report recommends some state actions to address things beyond the control of local education officials. As CCAP co-founder and board president David Patterson explained to EdSource, one key recommendation is establishing an inspector general function with authority to investigate suspicious financial acts and some of the report’s other recommendations, especially for small schools and authorizers.
Finally, CCAP also expects to collaborate with the two other state task forces that were convened to identify weaknesses in oversight and fiscal practices in public schools and to propose solutions. One of them, overseen by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, issued its report in February, on the funding process for nonclassroom-based charter schools. The third group, convened by the San Diego County District Attorney and California Controller’s offices, is due to be released shortly.
