SHE CAN’T READ! — Inglewood school board member Trina Williams began the new year by declaring that the sky is falling. Williams, vice president of the school board and the distaff member of the board’s baneful majority, told my Wave colleague that only $4 million remains of the $145 million Measure K bond issue the city’s electorate passed in 1998 to improve the public schools. That’s not true, and anybody who can read English can see that that’s not true. Not only has Williams unleashed a boldface lie to the public, she has insinuated some malfeasance and villainy on the part of somebody and called for a “forensic audit” of the use of all that Measure K money.

This is the truth: The IUSD agenda for its Nov. 12, 2008 meeting included an item called “Measure K Update.” During that meeting, Julie Avnit, the district’s Measure K financial bond accounting consultant, distributed two documents — a six-page report itemizing how every penny of the Measure K funds has been spent since 1999 and a one-page summary entitled “Measure K Cash Flow Status as of Sept. 30, 2008.”

Avnit and the board proceeded to discuss both these documents pursuant to the agenda. According to Avnit, district officials and the board members with whom I am on speaking terms, everyone in attendance read, discussed and left the meeting considering themselves to be fully informed on the matter. That is, apparently everyone except Williams.

I have before me now the two Measure K documents the board received and discussed. The six-page detailed report shows that the district has spent and/or designated to spend $130,776,245.43 in Measure K construction costs. The summary document shows that the district has available Measure K funds totaling $28,857,565.35. That’s a far cry from the $4 million Williams is alarmed about.

So where did Williams get that figure? At the very bottom of the summary document is a line that reads: “Bond refinance funds currently undesignated approximate amount here” followed by the figure $4,100,000.00. “That is the money the board had asked to have set aside and undesignated to handle whatever problems or unforeseen costs that may arise,” Avnit said. The other board members and district officials knew that to be the case, as it was discussed at the meeting, particularly as to whether $4 million was a large enough set-aside.

“Ms. Williams misunderstood the reports and the discussion and I’ve spent a lot of time explaining to people what the truth is,” Avnit said. The district and/or the board need to post these documents in a place where the public can read them and see for itself where Williams went awry.

Jack Wolffberg and Robert T. Guillen, the two people quoted in my colleague’s news story as supporting Williams’ concerns, are well-known and often seen Inglewood citizens who have their detractors. Neither returned any of my calls as to whether they had ever seen the Measure K report or did they just take Williams’ word for it. But district officials and the board minority are angry that Williams did not bring her misperceptions to the body before taking them to the press. They accuse her of trying to create an issue on which she can be re-elected to the school board in March. As part of an unpopular board majority, Williams is facing stiff competition from former board member Mary Bueno, whom many citizens believe will make a level-headed and much-needed Latino presence on the school board.

Arnold Butler, the former school board president who doesn’t live in Inglewood, is another prime target for removal, as five candidates filed their nomination packets last Friday to try to take him out: Joyce Randall, Chris Ward, Beverly Hutchinson, Patricia Gutierrez and Karen Hamilton. Any one of them will do. Alice Grigsby, the lady of the board, has been termed out of office and a whole host of folk is seeking her vacant seat: Lisa Dawson, Vernail Skaggs, Renee Dorn (the mayor’s daughter), Maria Olmedo, Earon Hill, Brandon Kiel, and Alena Cindy Giardina (remember her?).

Williams isn’t the only incumbent in Inglewood trying to become constituent-friendly. Judy Dunlap is facing a formidable challenge to her 2nd District City Council seat from the Rev. Austin F. Williams, the highly respected and politically connected pastor of True Vine Baptist Church, the fount from which flows much of Inglewood’s progressivism and community action. Dunlap has been a steadfast foe of all development or improvement or changes in her district for years. But now she’s suddenly taken a look at that blighted intersection of Fariview, LaTijera and LaCienga where that abandoned gas station has stood rotting away for 15 years and has decided to do something about it.

She convened an SRO meeting of her constituents the other day to get their opinions as to what should be done about the blighted property. One of her constituents told me that the intersection had become such a terrible eyesore, that four years ago the people tried to get Dunlap to do something about it then, but she didn’t want to hear it. But, four years ago she didn’t have Rev. Williams breathing down her neck.

THIS AND THAT— Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mike Antonovich led the Board of Supervisors in honoring veteran Channel 4 newsman Furnell Chatman Tuesday on the occasion of his retirement after 40 years in the business. Furnell is a familiar face that will be sorely missed. … Speaking of which, I ran into John Mitchell last week. John was the last black newsman at the L.A. Times. He was let go recently after working for the Times for almost 30 years. He got out just in time, as he immediately landed a great gig doing media relations for Charles Drew University while the Times’ parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Ridley-Thomas added another goodie to his staff: Daniel A. Rosenfeld was named last week as a senior deputy responsible for planning, transportation, environment and economic development in the 2nd District. Rosenfeld is the co-founder of Urban Partners LLC, and served as a board member of the Central City Association and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He was deputy director for real estate development for the state of California and assistant general manager for asset management for the city of Los Angeles.
Rosenfeld is credited with having helped create 72,000 new private sector jobs, which revitalized struggling urban areas. That staff employment bar just keeps going up!

Noted fundraiser John Jacobs held a gala event at Chops steakhouse in Sacramento the other day for the benefit of Assemblyman Curren Price’s campaign for state senator. All the heavy hitters were there, as well as some surprising supporters: Sen. Rod Wright and Assemblyman Isadore Hall. As you know, Wright has always been in Rep. Maxine Waters’ camp and would naturally be expected to support her acolyte, Assemblyman Mike Davis, against Price. And Hall supported Davis when he ran for the Assembly against Anthony Willoughby, so it would have been a safe bet that Hall would support Davis in his quest for a higher post. But no-o-o. It looks like alliances are shifting and politicos are thinking for themselves and making independent choices.

AND FINALLY — I have to pass this on because it’s just too funny: People who were there told me that when Rep. Diane Watson spoke at Isadore Hall’s community swearing-in ceremony she called him Isabel! I love it so much!