A KCAL News investigation first uncovered a serious problem involving a single Los Angeles Unified School District school about eight months ago, but since its discovery it has been discovered that the problem may be one that permeates the entire extensive school system.
The research found that the problem of flagging students present when they are not actually in class could affect an even greater number of schools than initially thought.
At school, attendance is everything. It’s valuable classroom time, it gives parents a reliable way to know where their children are, and it’s how schools are funded with taxpayer dollars.
Even with all of this on the table, LAUSD’s top leaders still refuse to speak on this issue.
An LAUSD teacher says he feels abandoned not only by LAUSD officials, but also by California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
“It’s clear something is wrong,” Dan Chang said. He says he first became aware of the problem late last school year, when someone changed his class attendance information.
Despite having an empty classroom, all of his students were marked as present the day after graduation. He says the principal at James Madison Middle School in North Hollywood explained to him via email: “This is how the district is handling the high point.”
Chang understands the importance of student attendance to California school districts.
“It’s everything…students in seats, if they’re there, that’s how you get funded,” he said.
On average, California pays schools about $11 per student per day. This means that on the day Chang’s classroom was suddenly marked as present, JMMS would have earned more than $51,000 in taxpayer dollars for their 462 eighth-grade students.
When asked if he thinks the act was fraud?
“I believe so,” Chang said. “I suspect this is a million-dollar problem every year.”
Antonio Hugo/Getty Images
Looking back
When KCAL News first raised the issue with LAUSD eight months ago, the district claimed the money was “extremely small.” They even sent a recorded message to parents, stating in part that this “will not impact average daily attendance funding receipts.”
LAUSD subsequently said they had launched an investigation, leading to the quick conclusion that it was a supposedly isolated incident.
Chang doesn’t buy it.
“I didn’t believe it when they told me,” he said. “And I don’t believe it now.”
He checked the grades of fifteen other LAUSD schools by analyzing their attendance systems.
“There are at least two schools that have the exact same pattern as Madison,” Chang said.
He found that 0% of Porter Middle School’s 353 eighth-grade students were absent the day after their peak. Yet 100% of those students were marked and certified as present that day. The school’s principal had no comment when contacted by KCAL News.
The trend at Daniel Pearl High School showed much the same. Although more than fifty seniors were absent the day after graduation, 100% were noted as present in the official records.
“I’m going to refer you to the communications office,” director Armen Petrossian said when contacted for comment on the matter.
Chang believes the magnitude of the problem is much greater when viewed across the district.
“Two out of fifteen is thirteen and a third percent,” he said. “I think it’s probably a hundred, a hundred and fifty schools. Maybe two hundred schools. … It’s a lot of money.’
Mike Fine is the CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state operation that conducts forensic audits of schools.
“When we look at the actual data and see that it’s not limited to just one teacher school, it’s concerning,” Fine said. “It raises the question of whether there are other days during the year when the school, or through direction from the district, asks the schools to mark all children in attendance.”
KCAL tried to help answer that question by requesting districtwide attendance data for June 9, 2023. It took eight months and attorney intervention before LAUSD finally released them.
“I’m afraid they’re having trouble producing really simple data that you’ve asked for,” Fine said.
The data shows that of the 142 high schools in LAUSD, 120 (or 85%) reported that all students were present that day.
Fine says that’s virtually impossible.
“I think someone at LA Unified needs to talk about it,” he said. “I don’t think silence does anyone any good.”
Forty-three schools reported that 100% of their students, 6,884 to be precise, were in the classroom after graduation. That’s more than $764,000 in taxpayer money.
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
District response
Chief Inspector Alberto Carvalho has said absenteeism is a priority of his, but did not speak about it when contacted.
KCAL News investigative journalist Ross Palombo tried to talk to Carvalho about the issue earlier this year, but never received a response.
In response to the allegations eight months ago, State Superintendent Thurmond said he would do something.
“I think whenever there is even the slightest suggestion of misconduct, it should be investigated, assessed and monitored,” he said. “We can’t have that in our system.”
Chang says he doesn’t think it has been investigated, reviewed or audited.
“Clearly not,” he said.
When contacted recently, Thurmond seemed surprised at the newer allegations being made. When asked if he thinks an audit is appropriate this time, he said the only way that could happen is at the request of county officials.
“He can’t even detect school attendance fraud when the evidence is presented,” Chang said. This is part of the reason why he himself presented evidence during his recent election to the LAUSD school board.
Chang also uses the material to teach his own students.
“Persevere,” he said. “Every teacher tells that to his student.”
When requested for comment, LAUSD issued a statement saying:
“As previously reported, Los Angeles Unified has completed its investigation into an isolated incident involving the reported presence of 8th graders at Madison Middle School for one day in June 2023. The investigation confirmed that this was an isolated incident, not widespread and not occurring in the United States. other schools and had no impact on the funding of average daily attendance. The total variance in revenue impact was just over $600 on a multi-billion dollar budget. The district worked with the state to ensure necessary corrections were made. Los Angeles Unified takes allegations of possible violations of district policy very seriously and has ensured that this is not a widespread practice.
In accordance with CDE guidelines, school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, must implement an end date when a student leaves school or at the end of the school year. The end date must be the last day the student attended school. If a student is not present on the last day of school, the end date is the last day of school. Once a student receives a due date, they will not be included in the school district’s daily attendance percentage for any day after the due date. Los Angeles Unified has followed all state guidelines and applicable laws in this regard.”
Outside the investigation
Chang says all he wants is a real and thorough investigation or audit to clarify what exactly is going on.
Although the KCAL News investigation found that dozens of schools claimed 100% attendance in one day, this is not evidence of fraud or of the number of children actually attending that day. This is part of the reason why Chang wants a full audit.
Because of the investigation, Thurmond has now asked the state auditor to investigate the matter “informally.” The results are still unclear.
LAUSD has said in the past that money is not a factor due to an accounting issue involving calculating average attendance during the last few months of classes.
