C e l e b r a t i n g 2 6 Ye a r s o f Service in Inglewood, Airport area Communities
City of Champions Your Community Connection Since 1994
EYE ON THE CITY Rams
Chargers
June 25 to July 1, 2020
Clippers
& Lakers
How do you have fun in a pandemic? See Page 6
VOL. 35, No. 26
By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
The eroding Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) at first was losing students at its member schools annually by the thousands, but now IUSD is scheduled to officially close the doors on Warren Lane Elementary School on June 29, during a virtual School Board meeting at 5:30p.m. Outside of that board meeting located at 401 South Inglewood Ave., there is expected to be some disgruntled parents and residents, but in the end none of it will matter. Four years ago the mass exodus of Inglewood area residents began when instead of attending failing low performing schools near home, they began attending schools outside the district, thus shrinking enrollments and costing the district millions of dollars in state revenue. By 2017, IUSD had sunk so low, losing students, gross mismanagement and fiscally insolvent, Inglewood Unified became the ninth school district in the history of California to be taken over by the state. Staring down the barrel of a $16
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million annually debt, the state floated the district an emergency loan of $55 million – an extreme
elected school board of its legislative powers. That debt now is floating around some $35 million and growing. There is enough blame to go around to the five Inglewood District board members, but it has to start at the top with its president Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza. Scorza’s glowing resume touts him as a lecturer in the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA, US Navy Iraq War Veteran, UC Regent Emeritus, 2010 Education Pioneers Fellow, and a 2013 Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) Fellow. Lofty accolades indeed, but not aligned with what Inglewood District required, and it’s not surprising that he has failed to right the ship at IUSD, since he came aboard the Inglewood District is sinking faster than the titanic. Scorza was a shocking under measure qualified choice to serve as high that required ranking staffer for the late Kent Taylor, firing then-local Superintendent Gary Continued on page 2 McHenry and stripping the locally
Los Angeles Rams and Fuel Up To Play 60 Award Inglewood Unified School District $10,000 Hometown Grant ‘Hometown Grant’ will support Inglewood Unified COVID-19 Relief Efforts IT News Wire
The Los Angeles Rams have partnered with Fuel Up to PLAY 60 and America’s Dairy Farmers to provide Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) with a $10,000 ‘Hometown Grant’ to be used in support of the District’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Over the past few months, Inglewood Unified School District has been organizing grab-and-go meal distributions for student-families and helping to address other needs that have surfaced as a result of COVID-19.
During this time, the Rams have worked with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to supplement these meals and food kits for IUSD student-families. “Although school is out for the summer, our commitment to the wellbeing of our families still remains. The generosity and partnership of our neighbors, the Los Angeles Rams, have been vital to ensuring that commitment,” said Dr. Erika Torres, County Administrator for IUSD. “We greatly appreciate their donation and Continued on page 2
Not long after the local residents, their guests and visitors enjoyed a world-class Juneteenth Parade and Celebration, the Inglewood Sports Bar and Lounge extend the festivities by providing a free barbecue meal to everyone, that extended into the early evening. The delectable meal featured barbecue chicken and ribs, potato salad, and baked beans topped off with a non-alcoholic beverage of choice. Kudos to the Inglewood Sports Bar and Lounge for ‘giving back’ to the City of Inglewood! Francis Taylor for Inglewood Today
Buppie is Back! See Page 6
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