Thomas Wang's complaint against AUSD

Supt.TellezGaglianoandAsst.Supt.MarshaGilbert

1515MissionRoad

Alhambra,CA91803

Re:LCAPbudgetapprovalonJune30schoolboardmeeting/UNIFORMCOMPLAINT

PROCEDURE(UCP)

DearSupt.TellezGaglianoandAsst.Supt.MarshaGilbert:

TheLocalControlandAccountabilityPlan(LCAP)issupposedkeepschooldistricts

accountablebyinvolvingcommunitymembersintotheirdecisionmakingprocess.Itisthe

responsibilityoftheAlhambraUnifiedSchoolDistricttoreachouttothecommunityinorderto

holdapublichearingdiscussingthebudget.However,theAlhambraUnifiedSchoolDistricthas

failedtoeffectivelyreachouttothecommunitytoinformthemaboutthepublichearingonJune

23.Thispublichearinglastedonlyfiveminutesandhadminimalcommunityinput.

Forthe20152016fiscalyear,theAUSDadvertisedtheirLCAPontheEnglishnewsmediathe

PasadenaStarNews.However,thisisapoorattemptinreachingtothecommunity.Evenwhen

tryingtofindtheallegedPasadenaStarNewsnotificationofthehearing,mysearchenginewas

filledwithzeroarticlesdatedin2015.Accordingtothe2010census,20percentofthepeople

livinginthiscommunityspeakEnglishathome.Thismeanthat80percentofthecitizensare

morecomfortablewithaforeignlanguagesuchasChinese,Vietnamese,andSpanish.

AccordingtoCaliforniaEducationCode42103,theDistrictmustcirculatethenewsina

newspaperofgeneralcirculationinthedistrict.Becauseofthelackaccessibilityandthe

languagebarrierswithintheDistrict,usingthePasadenaStarNewsissimplynotaviableoption

tospreadthenewsofthepublichearingstothedistricttheyserve,anditisnotapaperof

generalcirculation.OthermediaoutletssuchasSingTaoDaily,VietBao,WorldJournal,

AlhambraSource,LaOpinion,andeventheAroundAlhambraandMontereyParkCascades,

perhapsaremuchmoreaccessible.

Onthedaysthatthebudgetisallowedforinspection,thepublicisforcedinaninconvenient

situation.OnJune18,19,and22,thecommunitywasabletoinspectthebudgetfrom9a.m.to

5p.m.atthesuperintendentsoffice.Becauseallofthesedaysareontheweekday,working

communitymembersareunabletoviewtheLCAPbudget.Therefore,theLCAPbudgetisnot

convenientlyaccessibletoresidentsofthedistrictevenifitisatthedistrictoffice.Additionally,

somecommunitymemberswouldhavetodrivefor30minutestoreachthedistrictoffice

becauseSanGabrielHighSchoolisacommuterschoolwithfamilieslivinginRosemead.

Moreover,thelackoftranslationfurtherdeniesthepublicanyabilitytoparticipateinthepublic

hearing.Thebudgetmustbetranslatedinorderforthedistricttoeffectivelyreachouttothe

public.Evenifacommunitymemberdecidestojumpthroughthehurdlesofattendingthe

meetings,theirunderstandingofthebudgetisbarredtotheinconvenienceofnot

accommodatingthepublic.Eveniftranslatorsarepresent,afullunderstandingand

accommodationwillstillnotbeachievedbecauseasecondhandsourcedoesnotalways

provideanaccuraterepresentationofthefacts.

OntheJune23boardmeeting,itwasaddressedthattranslatingtheLCAPbudgetwasan

issuethatiscurrentlybeingworkedon.Giventheimportanceoftranslation,thisisinexcusable

thatthisremainsanissueandthataboardbudgetvotewilloccuronJune30,justoneweek

laterafterthefiveminutepublichearing.

Underthecurrentcircumstances,theAUSDshandlingoftheLCAPhearingsareinviolationof

theCaliforniaEducationCode42103.Thelackoftransparencyandeffortbythedistrictis

unjustifiable.

Wedemandtranslation,properoutreachtoourcommunities,andareasonabletimeframeto

reviewtheLCAPbudgetbeforetheboardmeetingvoteontheLCAPbudget.Icanbereached

at(emailremovedtoprotecttheprivacyoftheauthor),andIlookforwardtohearingbackfrom

youbeforeJune30,preferablyonJune27.Thankyouforyourattentiontothisurgentsituation.

Sincerely,

ThomasWang

SanGabrielHighSchoolStudentandCommunityMember

Editor,TheMatador