Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner is blasting current leader Alberto Carvalho in a scathing letter over the alleged misuse of tens of millions of dollars in arts funding.

Carvalho — who was targeted in a series ofFBI raidslast month for alleged fraud and corruption — is responsible for diverting public funds meant to pay for arts teachers, according to Beutner.

Carvalho“willfully and knowingly violat[ed] the law,” by misusing $77 million in state arts education funding to backfill gaps in the district’s$19 billion budget, a letter sent to the district from Beutner on Monday claims.

“This is not only a clear violation of the law passed by more than 7 million voters, it’s morally bankrupt because it deprives hundreds of thousands of students in LA schools the benefits they would receive by participating in arts and music at school,” the letter, obtained by The California Post, states.

Beutner also outlines a secret, internal document he allegedly obtained that shows Carvalho admitted to the LAUSD board in 2024 that he was not using the money for arts teachers as the law requires.

Carvalho in a memo to the board states, “The District prioritized the use of Prop 28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff,” in response to questions to the board over whether the funds were being used properly.

The money meant for arts teachers comes from a 2022 law passed by voters called Proposition 28, which sends about $1 billion in state funding each year to all the California school districts with a mandate that the money be used to be pay for arts teachers.

Only about one in five LAUSD schools has an art teacher, and the funding is meant to ensure that every school has one. LAUSD’s share of the money works out to about $77 million per year, or about $200 per student.

Beutner served as LAUSD superintendent before Carvalho took over. Beutner wrote the Proposition 28 legislation that gives schools the money. He claims Carvalho didn’t use the money to pay for arts teachers as the law mandates. He wants the district to use the millions to pay for arts teachers as the law says.

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Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos