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>> >>PEGGY: A FOUR MONTH INVESTIGATION BY A VOICE OF SAN DIEGO AND NBC 7 FOUND WHAT
THEY CALL A PERVASIVE PATTERN WITH SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION BETWEEN A NUMBER OF LOCAL SCHOOL
DISTRICTS, AND CAMPAIGN DONORS AWARDED BIG CONTRACTS ON THE VERY BOND PROJECTS THEY BACKED.
VOICE OF SAN DIEGO'S WILL CARLESS JOINS ME WITH MORE ON HIS INVESTIGATIVE REPORT.
WILL, GIVE US A SUMMARY OF THITS THIS INVESTIGATION. >> >>WILL CARLESS: BRIEFLY RK WHAT WE DID
IS LOOKED AT WHO WAS FUNDING BOND CAMPAIGNS WHO END UP PAYING FOR THE CAMPAIGN SIGNS,
EVERYTHING THAT INVOLVES GETTING A CAMPAIGN MEASURE PAST THE VOTERS AND THEN WE WENT AND
SAW IF THE SAME COMPANIES THAT HAD WRITTEN LARGE CHECKS ENDED UP DOING THE WORK ONCE
THE BOND MONEY STARTED FLOWING. WE FOUND IN I THINK IT WAS 13 OF THE 17 DISTRICTS
THAT HAVE ISSUED BONDS, WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION.
>> >>PEGGY: HOW MANY DISTRICTS DID YOU LOOK AT, AND THE SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION, TELL
US ABOUT THAT AS FAR AS HOW MUCH MONEY WAS DONATED AND WHAT HAPPENED.
>> >>WILL CARLESS: WE HAD TO HONE IN, OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
WHO GIVE ANYWHERE FROM 5 DOLLARS TO 50,000 DOLLARS TO BOND CAMPAIGNS.
WE FOCUSED ON ANYBODY WHO GAVE MORE THAN 5,000 DOLLARS.
IN EVERY DISTRICT, THERE'S ANYWHERE FROM TWO OR THREE OR A DOZEN OF THESE DONORS.
WE FOUND THAT IN 72% OF THE TIME, THE COMPANIES THAT HAD GIVEN THOSE LARGE DONATIONS ENDED
UP BEING AWARDED CONTRACTS TO WORK ON THE BOND PROGRAM.
>> >>PEGGY: LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GRAPH DETAILING SH F THAT WORK.
THIS IS ABOUT THE MONEY THAT WAS SPENT AND THE CORRELATION.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT THERE? >> >>WILL CARLESS: IT'S VARIOUS DIFFERENT
DISTRICTS. THESE I THINK YOU GUYS SELECTED KIND OF THE
MOST SOT OF INTERESTING DISTRICTS LET'S SAY WHETHER IT WAS A VERY STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN
THE DONORS AND MOST F THEM ENDED UP GETTING CONTRACTS IF NOT ALL OF THEM.
>> >>PEGGY: ALL RIGHT, AND HOW MUCH AS FAR AS LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTSÊ I WANTED TO BRING
THIS UPÊ THEY'RE DOLING OUT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF TAX PAYER MONEY FOR THESE BOND
PROJECTS. IS THIS TYPE OF QUID QUO PRO LEGAL?
>> >>WILL CARLESS: WELL, IFÊ LET'S BE CLEAR. IF THERE IS A PROVEN QUID QUO PRO.
IF A COMPANY COMES TO A DISTRICT AND SAYS WE WILL GIVE YOU MONEY IF YOU GIVE US A PROJECT.
THAT'S NOT LEGAL. BASICALLY THE LAWYERS WHO ADVICE THE LEGISLATURE
HAVE GONE AND TAKEN A LOOK AT THE STATUTES AND SAY THAT'S DEFINITELY NOT LEGAL.
THE THING IS THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY PROVE THAT. TO BE FAIR, I'M NOT GOING TO SAY THAT'S DEFINITELY
HAPPENING, RIGHT? YOU GO TO DISTRICTS TALK TO PEOPLE, THEY SAY
IT COULD BE HAPPENING OVER THERE, BUT IT'S NOT HAPPENING OVER HERE.
>> >>PEGGY: IS IT HAPPENING IN SAN DIEGO UNIFIED? >> >>WILL CARLESS: SAN DIEGO UNIFIED'S ONE
OF THE THREE OR FOUR DISTRICTS WE DECIDED WE COULDN'T FAIRLY SAY THERE WAS A CORRELATION
THERE. THAT'S FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
FOR A START JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY IN TOWN GIVES MONEY TO SAN DIEGO UNIFIED.
REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY END UP GETTING CONTRACTS.
THE SECOND IS THAT SAN DIEGO UNIFIED DOES THINGS PRETTY DIFFERENTLY.
IT DOESN'T DO THESE LEASE, LEASE BACK CONTRACTS THAT ALLOW A DISTRICT TO SELECT THE COMPANY
THEY'RE GOING TO WORK WITH. >> >>PEGGY: THEY HAVE SOME CHECKS AND BALANCES.
WHAT ABOUT THE DISTRICTS WHO DID AWARD THESE LARGE CONTRACTS TO THESE BIG DONORS, WHAT
DID THEY SAY WHEN YOU TALKED TO THEM ABOUT THIS?
>> >>WILL CARLESS: BASICALLY THEY SAID THERE'S NO CONNECTION.
WE'RE NOT INFLUENCES IN ANY WAY BY WHO'S GIVING US MONEY, THE SELECTION PROCESS IS IT'S DIFFERENT
PEOPLE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS AND YOU'RE DRAWING CONCLUSIONS WHERE THEY'RE NOT TO BE DRAWN.
>> >>PEGGY: STRANGE COINCIDENCE, THOUGH. WE ARE OUT OF TIME.
I WANT TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THEY CAN READ YOUR STORY BY GOING TO OUR WEBSITE, KPBS.ORG.