THE BLAME; AUDIT FINDS A CULTURE OF LYING.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

The Belmont Learning Center scandal is symptomatic of a pervasive culture of lying, finger pointing, power games, disregard for the law and wholesale shirking of responsibility that permeates top management of the nation's second-largest school district, the Mullinax report concluded Tuesday.

For years, the Los Angeles Unified School District has tolerated repeated violations of policies and procedures without calling employees to account, disciplining them or even mentioning employees by name, said Don Mullinax, director of the district's internal audit and special investigations unit.

``No one was ever held responsible or accountable for their actions,'' he said. ``A report would read, `A procedure was not followed, next time follow the procedure.' No names were ever mentioned, no one was held accountable, no discipline was given out.

``We're hoping today that will change, but it's not going to happen overnight.''

The report validated what many critics have said is at the heart of the district's failures in many areas.

``This is what we've been saying about the school district for two decades,'' said Day Higuchi, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. ``It speaks to a culture that's been in place for 30 years or more. Now the people who should be accountable need to act. The culture is about to fall.''

Mullinax, LAUSD's inspector general, launched his investigation seven months ago, amid growing evidence that environmental problems caused by old oil wells and widespread presence of explosive methane gas at the Belmont site posed serious health hazards.

His mission was to determine how the district decided to locate what would be the nation's most expensive high school at $200 million without proper safety precautions, and to assign responsibility.

The former Senate investigator said he studied past district documents regarding policies and practices covering several years and interviewed 65 officials extensively.

What he learned, he said, was that from a succession of school boards and superintendents, the LAUSD evolved a culture that allowed on-top managers to avoid all responsibility.

The result was a general failure to demand professionalism from district staff who in turn failed to properly oversee their employees and outside consultants.

`Rudderless'

The report said former school boards generally operated under ``rudderless'' policies for Belmont in terms of acquisition, development and evaluation of environmental risks at the school.

The boards ``tolerated a culture remarkably indifferent to compliance . . . This culture developed a practice of denying responsibility, deflecting (rather than responding to) criticism, and defending poorly planned and executed LAUSD actions with regard to Belmont,'' the report says.

Absent scrutiny from the top, LAUSD staff became so undisciplined that ``turf rivalry and internal bickering'' became so commonplace that they no longer were able to exercise their responsibilities, including the oversight of consultants, the report said.

As the district staff became increasingly cavalier, they ``misled'' the board on such vital issues as the environmental risks associated with Belmont, even failing to warn board members they might be in danger of violating - and in some cases already had - state environmental and other laws.

Mullinax said the LAUSD's culture of ``denial and deflection'' was able to thrive, because no one ever demanded that anyone step forward and take responsibility for projects, most notably Belmont.

Mullinax said that after 65 interviews and reviewing thousands of documents it remains almost impossible today to know who actually should have been responsible - let alone who was responsible - for Belmont.

``They all said they were coordinators,'' Mullinax. ``They pointed fingers. Hardly anyone took responsibility.''

Stonewalling 

The LAUSD's habit of stonewalling remains so strong that at least one official waited months before turning over documents, and Mullinax said he's not convinced the LAUSD has fully complied with the document requests even yet.

According to the report, Roger Friermuth, a project manager within the Project Management and Construction branch, did not provide 11 boxes of documents to investigators until Aug. 10, though they had been requested in March. Friermuth supplied one box of materials in April, the report states.

Friermuth did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

The report recommends Friermuth be disciplined up to termination, saying he failed to require the developer, Temple Beaudry Partners LLC, to properly design and install a methane barrier system beneath Belmont and also failed to obtain the proper environmental assessment of excavated and removed contaminated soil.

Friermuth told investigators he had ``no say'' in the design and construction of the facility and that he was ``not responsible'' for the environmental assessment.

Mullinax said the district's lack of forthcomingness is ``endemic.''

``It is a school district that does not want to cooperate,'' he said.

An extensive log contained in the report reveals how difficult the document acquisition process was.

``The defensive and uncooperative behavior of some senior staff within the district coupled with the hesitancy of many staffers to release Belmont-related documents or cooperate with the investigation made the internal auditor's job of ferreting out the truth all the more arduous and time-consuming,'' the report says.

Resisting change

Mullinax said the district has been resistant to change for years, but said even the most entrenched cultures can be changed. He said that requires both consideration of the disciplinary recommendations and more far-reaching structural changes recommended in the report.

That includes the employment of senior managers to be held responsible for school facilities and environmental compliance, as well as an independent counsel to the school board. That attorney would give the board advice apart from that now provided by General Counsel Richard Mason. The report said it had probable cause to believe Mason failed to make sure the board did not violate state environmental laws, failed to supervise outside counsel and failed to cooperate with the investigation. Mason declined comment Tuesday.

``This is a first step in restoring accountability and credibility in the school district,'' Mullinax said. ``The report is to the board. It's up to them to take action.''

WHAT'S NEXT

Here is a rundown of what happens next for the Belmont Learning Center:

Superintendent Ruben Zacarias and school board to act on Mullinax report in coming weeks.

Belmont Commission to make recommendation on advisability of completing the high school: mid-October.

State Department of Toxic Substances Control to issue a report on advisability of construction and how to manage the site: late November.

Second internal report by inspector general Don Mullinax due on investigation into $173 million in Belmont expenditures: late November.

Superintendent Ruben Zacarias receives performance review: late 1999 or early 2000.

District attorney and other possible criminal investigations into Belmont scandal completed: undetermined.

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