HBCSD Corruption
Lie #2
The Misinformation:
(1) Terry Tao, HBCSD Attorney (2002-):
“The resolution of intention to sell was on June 13, 1977, the City had expressed interest and there were some terms in the MOU, ah, in an MOU, that happens to be unsigned.” …“So, check out the date, June 13, 1977, there is a cross reference to this MOU and the cross reference to the MOU, um, which is an unsigned MOU, and it doesn’t reflect all of the final sales terms.” May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members. Time Stamp: 02:09:40
CORRECT INFORMATION:
1. The MOU did not need to be signed because the City of Hermosa Beach executed (accepted) the MOU in their meetings of June 14, 1977 and June 28, 1977.
2. The MOU outlined the most important initial negotiated terms of the sale and purchase of Pier Avenue School to start the sale process.
3. Of course the MOU did not reflect all the final terms of the sale. The entire Agreement including the ALL exhibits (including Exhibit G and the MOU) reflected the final sale terms. The final sales terms were accepted by the City when the city council members (Lance Widman, George Schmeltzer, George Barks) signed the final Agreement eight months later on February 28, 1978.
NOTE: Why would Terry Tao clearly mislead the community about the MOU? Was it because certain city council members and school board members were involved in a quid pro quo to deny the district use of the Community Center in exchange for helping school board members pass a $59M bond to build a brand-new, now unneeded campus at North School?
NOTE: Community members were not given the opportunity to ask questions during or after Terry Tao's presentation.
(2) Terry Tao, HBCSD Attorney (2002-):
“There’s, ah, some reference that some people have talked about; ten years after, ah, the, after the close of the transaction. There’s first priority for rent free use, that the district has the right to use the facility when the enrollment exceeds 1,266 pupils and the district is entitled to use the space for office space and storage space. However, just because it’s in writing, and that’s what the district was hoping for, doesn’t mean that that’s what the City had agreed to. So it’s terribly, I don’t really want to say this, but it’s terribly unfair for the City after all these years to keep having this MOU brought up and mentioned over and over again.” May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members. Time Stamp: 02:10:50
CORRECT INFORMATION:
1. Terry Tao making the statement that "There's some reference that some people have talked about; ten years after the close of the transaction" has NOTHING to do with the validity of the MOU. In fact, the MOU, Article 4 use of classrooms, office and storage space at the Community Center does NOT have an expiration date. District usage of classrooms at the Community Center is dependent on enrollment over 1,266 students. This threshold occurred at HBCSD in 2010 and by 2020 had dropped back down below 1,266 students.
2. HBCSD sold the Pier Avenue School/Community Center to the City of Hermosa Beach for 40% below fair market value and in return retained use of classrooms, offices and storage space when district enrollment exceeded 1,266 students.
Section 4.02 of the MOU states:
“The nature of this memorandum of understanding shall be
construed as being analogous to a lease in that part of the
consideration for the District selling the subject property to the
City for less than fair market value is the District’s right to use
the subject property facilities without cost as more particularly
set forth below.”
3. The City agreed to the MOU at their meetings of June 14 and June 28, 1977. The City executed all provisions of the MOU when they took out an escrow following the instructions in Article 3 of the MOU. The MOU did not need to be signed since it had already been accepted by the City.
4. HBCSD attorney Terry Tao outright lied and misrepresented nearly all the information he presented at his approximately one-hour May 31, 2016 presentation. Why would he tell the truth on this issue? Please see Terry Tao’s entire presentation with fact checking for the full impact of his misinformation and misleading statements. Terry Tao was not under oath to tell the truth. It is not illegal to lie. Please see Lie #16: Rampant misinformation and misleading information told by HBCSD Attorney Terry Tao in a video tapped and televised presentation one week before the district's $59M bond vote.
5. Taxpayer paid Superintendent Pat Escalante colluded with taxpayer paid HBCSD attorney Terry Tao and school board members over six hours to give an approximately one-hour presentation filled with false and misleading information one week before the June 7, 2016 bond vote in order to win a $59M facilities bond. Please see AALRR Invoice for May 31, 2016.
6. The May 31, 2016 presentation given by HBCSD attorney Terry Tao at the HBCSD and City of Hermosa Beach Joint meeting was made ONE WEEK before the June 2016 $59M bond vote and was uploaded to the school district website under Measure S information. Terry Tao’s curated misinformation in this presentation cost taxpayers $11k.
7. When presented with proof of Terry Tao and Pat Escalante’s lies to the community, School Board members did not publicly reprimand, censure or fire either Pat Escalante or Terry Tao for outright lying to the community one week before the bond vote. In fact, shortly after evidence of Pat Escalante and Terry Tao’s lies was made available, HBCSD school board members tried to elevate Pat Escalante in the public by claiming that she had been honored by the Creative Coalition at an event in Park City, Utah. It appears that School Board members gave Pat Escalante an all expense taxpayer paid vacation to Park City, Utah for lying to the public in order to pass their $59M bond.
Please See:
Lie #23: Claiming that Pat Escalante was honored by the Creative Coalition at the Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah. Shamelessly, School Board members also nominated Pat Escalante for Superintendent of the Year for 2019.
8. The misinformation given to taxpayers by HBCSD attorney Terry Tao was reported to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for Public Integrity in spring 2017 and to the Fair Political Practice Commission in May 2020.
The alleged violation for the FPPC was that of using more than $10,000 of taxpayer funds to hire an attorney for the sole purpose of misinforming voters in order to pass the district’s $59M bond Measure S and not reporting the campaign expenditure and contribution to the Yes on S campaign in violation of FPPC rules. Violation Section 18420: Failure to report nonmonetary campaign expenditures by local government agency (Hermosa Beach City School District) of more than $8,000 for the benefit of the Committee to Improve Hermosa Schools – Yes on S, I.D. #1383261.
9. Correct information was given to Easy Reader reporter Ryan McDonald three months after this meeting (after community members fact checked Terry Tao’s statements). Neither Ryan McDonald nor the Easy Reader did anything to investigate the allegations of misinformation and collusion by Terry Tao and Pat Escalante. This information was withheld from the public.
10. Correct information was also given to HB City Council members in the winter of 2016. Apparently, none of the City Council members investigated this information on their own. None of the City Council members (Justin Massey, Jeff Duclos, Hany Fangary, Carolyn Petty or Stacey Armato) made this information public. Despite the overwhelming evidence, City Council member Justin Massey stated in a private meeting that he did not believe the community members fact checking.
(3) Hany Fangary, HB City Council member (2014 – 2021):
“ I know this subject has come up several times, um, has there been a determination that this MOU is, besides the fact that the one we have is not signed, that the MOU. has never been signed? Or is that still a question mark?” May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members. Time Stamp: 02:50:54
Terry Tao, HBCSD Attorney (2002-): “That, the MOU is, the MOU has never been signed and from what I can tell, it’s Exhibit “B” to the resolution of June 13th 1977, ah so it was an MOU that eventually gets reduced into the Sales Agreement and the Sales Agreement is the final document with regard to the sale. So, whatever didn’t get incorporated from the MOU essentially disappears.” May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members. Time Stamp: 02:50:54
CORRECT INFORMATION:
1. The "Resolution of June 13, 1977" was HBCSD's Resolution of Intention to Sell and Prescribing the Terms Thereof that was sent to the city on June 13, 1977. The resolution was the product of several months of negotiation between the city and the school district from January 1977 to June 1977. The "Resolution of June 13, 1977" AND the ENTIRE Memorandum of Understanding (without changes) were labeled Exhibit G and included in the final Agreement signed by the City in 1978. Therefore the entire MOU WAS included (not "reduced" as Terry Tao alludes to) into the final Sales Agreement and labeled Exhibit G. The entire MOU was incorporated into the final Agreement. There is NO indication whatsoever that any part of the MOU "disappear" in the final signed Agreement.
The Memorandum of Understanding defined the terms that the school district was willing to sell the Pier Avenue Community Center to the City of Hermosa Beach for. It is Exhibit B to HBCSD's Resolution of Intention to Sell and Prescribing the Terms Thereof. Exhibit A to the HBCSD Resolution of Intention to Sell was the description of the property that HBCSD was willing to sell (on condition) to the City of Hermosa Beach. The City of Hermosa Beach accepted the Resolution and the MOU (Exhibit B) and the description of the property (Exhibit A) at their meetings of June 14, 1977 and June 28, 1977.
NOTE: Why was the MOU missing from available copies of the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School from 2002 until it was discovered by a Facilities Planning and Advisory committee member in September 2013?
NOTE: Why didn't George Schmeltzer or Lance Widman alert the community to the existence of the MOU before it was discovered in September 2013? It is hard to believe that George Schmeltzer and Lance Widman were the ONLY people at the city and the school district who knew about the MOU prior to it's discovery by a Hermosa Beach resident.
2. The Resolution of Intention to Sell and Prescribing the Terms Thereof was labeled Exhibit ‘G’ in the final Agreement. The Resolution WAS listed on page 2 of the main body of the Sales Agreement in Article 1 Recital of Facts, item 1.09. None of the items listed in the Recital of Facts are expounded on in the main Sales Agreement pages 1-11 that Terry Tao is referring to. Each item in the Recital of Facts includes an exhibit that gives further details as to the intent – as in this case the MOU gives further details of HBCSD’s terms of their offer to sell Pier Avenue School to the city. The MOU along with the board resolution were included in the entire Agreement along with exhibits ‘A’ through ‘K’ and therefore they ARE both valid contractual documents.
3. In the main Sales Agreement, Article 5 Conditions to Purchase, item 5.02 states:
“The City’s duty to purchase the Pier Avenue School is conditioned
upon the occurrence of all the following events: The execution by the
parties of all the agreements attached hereto as exhibits.”
4. The City of Hermosa Beach cannot pick and choose which of the Articles they decide to accept from the MOU and which they decided NOT to accept without the MOU being physically modified, which it was not.
The MOU, Article 4, Section 4.10:
"Each and all of the terms, conditions and agreements contained
herein shall in every respect be binding upon and shall inure to the
benefit of the respective successors in interest of and assigns of the
District or the City.”
The MOU, Article 4, Section 4.11:
"Each and every provision of law and each and every clause
required by law to be inserted in this Agreement shall be deemed
to be inserted herein and the Agreement shall be read and enforced
as though they were included herein; and if for any reason such
provisions are not inserted, or are not correctly stated, then upon
application of either party this Agreement shall forthwith be
physically amended to make such insertion or correction.”
5. HBCSD attorney Terry Tao outright lied and misrepresented nearly all the information he presented at his approximately one-hour May 31, 2016 presentation. Why would he tell the truth on this issue? Please see Terry Tao’s entire presentation at the May 31, 2016 joint city and school district meeting with fact checking for the full impact of his misinformation and misleading statements. Terry Tao was not under oath to tell the truth. It is not illegal to lie.
6. Taxpayer paid Superintendent Pat Escalante colluded with taxpayer paid HBCSD attorney Terry Tao and school board members in over six hours of meetings to give an approximately one-hour presentation filled with false and misleading information one week before the June 7, 2016 bond vote in order to win a $59M facilities bond.
7. Terry Tao’s invoiced HBCSD $11k for his curated presentation of misinformation given one week before the bond vote.
8. Terry Tao’s presentation with incorrect information was downloaded onto the HBCSD website one week before the bond vote.
9. When presented with proof of Terry Tao and Pat Escalante’s lies to the community, school board members did not publicly reprimand Pat Escalante or Terry Tao. School Board members did not sensor or fire either Pat Escalante or Terry Tao for outright lying to the community one week before the bond vote. In fact, shortly after evidence of Pat Escalante and Terry Tao’s lies was made available HBCSD school board members tried to elevate Pat Escalante in the public by claiming that she had been honored by the Creative Coalition at an event in Park City, Utah. It appears that school board members gave Pat Escalante an all expense taxpayer paid vacation to Park City, Utah for lying to the public in order to pass their $59M bond. Please See: Lie #23: Claiming that Pat Escalante was honored by the Creative Coalition at the Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah. Shamelessly, School Board members also nominated Pat Escalante for Superintendent of the Year for 2019.
10. The misinformation given by HBCSD attorney Terry Tao was reported to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for Public Integrity in spring 2017 and to the Fair Political Practice Commission in May 2020.
The alleged violation that was reported to the FPPC was that of using more than $10,000 of taxpayer funds to hire an attorney for the sole purpose of misinforming voters in order to pass the district’s $59M bond Measure S and not reporting the campaign expenditure and contribution to the Yes on S campaign in violation of FPPC rules. Violation Section 18420: Failure to report nonmonetary campaign expenditures by local government agency (Hermosa Beach City School District) of more than $8,000 for the benefit of the Committee to Improve Hermosa Schools – Yes on S, I.D. #1383261.
(4) Pat Escalante, HBCSD Superintendent (2012-2020):
CORRECT STATEMENT: “Because the City purchased the property for under fair market value, a lease agreement was included as an integral part of the sale transaction." INCORRECT STATEMENT: "The lease provides for limited usage by the district of certain portions of the Pier Avenue School. The lease agreement is for a period of 50 years (in 3 year increments) and will expire in 2028.”
Sale of Pier Avenue School to the City of Hermosa Beach, Pat Escalante, Superintendent, Hermosa Beach City School District dated 11/08/13, HBCSD.org website.
NOTE: Although HBCSD attorney Terry Tao and Hermosa Beach attorney Michael Jenkins had stated that the MOU was not valid, HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante described the MOU as an "integral" part of the sales transaction. Pat Escalante does not state that the MOU was not a valid document.
NOTE: THIS IS (PURPOSELY?) INCOMPLETE and MISLEADING INFORMATION:
Pat Escalante is muddling the facts of the district's lease provisions in the Sale and Purchase Agreement for Pier Avenue School. She (purposely?) confuses (because the facts are clear when you read the two exhibits) the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding for district use of classrooms, office and storage space contained in Exhibit G with the provisions for district use of the gymnasium, auditorium, tennis courts, lockers and showers as described in Exhibit K. Muddling the facts between Exhibit G and the MOU and Exhibit K became a common theme with how HBCSD approached the district’s provisions for facility use at the Community Center in public statements.
NOTE: Please also see: Lie #9: Purposely confusing the separate provisions for district use of the gymnasium, changing rooms and auditorium that has a 50-year term renewable in three-year increments in Exhibit K with the provisions for district use of classrooms, office and storage space that has no expiration date and is predicated only on district enrollment over 1,266 students contained in the Memorandum of Understanding.
(5) Hermosa Beach Community Center’s history key to bond vote by Ryan McDonald (published less than one week before the $59M bond vote on June 7, 2016 and posted to the HBCSD website). Hermosa Beach Community Center’s history key to bond vote, by Ryan McDonald, June 1, 2016, Easy Reader
“The Hermosa Beach City School District cannot automatically reopen the city’s Community Center as a school, and attempting to do so would likely require extensive examination and retrofitting, according to a report provided at a joint meeting of the school board and the city council Tuesday night.”
This is an INCORRECT and MISLEADING statement reported less than one week before the district's $59M bond vote.
CORRECT INFORMATION:
1. According to the Office of Public School Construction letter to HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante dated March 26, 2014, HBCSD can indeed use "the City's" Community Center for students.
2. WHAT was the "report" that was provided at the joint meeting of the school board and the city council that Easy Reader reporter Ryan McDonald is referring to? Was it the one hour of curated misinformation provided by HBCSD attorney Terry Tao?
3. HBCSD attorney Terry Tao is NOT an engineer and is not qualified to make any statements regarding the seismic safety of the Community Center.
4. The Community Center had passed a Tier 1 Seismic Evaluation and a Conditions Assessment in 2015. Both assessments were done by impartial professionals. They pronounced the Community Center seismically safe and in very good conditions, with only minor improvements needed.
5. Terry Tao should have known (and probably did know, but kept this information from voters) that Pier Avenue School was built to Field Act specifications and is therefore considered safe for school students as is.
NOTE: Why did HBCSD attorney Terry Tao provide the community with so much misinformation one week before the district's $59M bond vote? Was Terry Tao in cahoots with the cabal to keep the school district out of the Community Center? Was his presentation meant to convince taxpayers to spend $59M dollars for a unneeded brand-new campus at North School and an expanded View School even when there was a quicker and less expensive solution available to reduce temporary overcrowding?
NOTE: HBCSD attorney Terry Tao received approximately $11K for his one hour presentation of misinformation and misleading information provided at the Joint City and School District meeting of May 31, 2016.
(5) continued:
“A limited agreement accompanying the sale gave the district “limited usage” of “certain portions” of the former Pier Avenue School; under the agreement, lease of the entire school, including classrooms facilities, was a possibility, but not something the city was obligated to agree to.”
This is an INCORRECT statement.
CORRECT INFORMATION:
1. The city of Hermosa Beach was indeed "obligated" to honor their lease agreement with HBCSD for district use of classrooms, office and storage space at the Pier Avenue Community Center when enrollment exceeded 1,266 students as it had from 2010 to 2018.
2. The “limited usage” of “certain portions” of the former Pier Avenue school consists of one classroom per 28 students over district enrollment of 1,266 students. There is no expiration to this provision, it is based solely on district enrollment above 1,266 students. In September 2014 HBCSD district was 1,472 students. HBCSD was entitled to use at least 7 classrooms at the Community Center temporarily until enrollment dropped back below 1,266 students.
NOTE: As of 2020 enrollment had declined back down to 1,200 students from it's high of 1,472 students in 2014. Taxpayers paid $59M for a now unneeded brand-new campus for 510 students at North School (renamed Vista School in 2022). As of 2024 HBCSD has approximately 22 classrooms that are unused or underused.
NOTE: In addition to district use of classrooms, office space and storage space specified in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under Exhibit K, Lease Agreement for Future Use of Pier Avenue School (aka the Recreation Agreement), HBCSD also has the right to use the gymnasium, changing rooms, showers, lockers and tennis courts at the Community Center, rent free for two hours a day during the school term plus ten additional days per year at any time other than regular school hours.
NOTE: The school district also has priority use of the auditorium at the Community Center for ten days during the school year.
“At Tuesday night’s [one week before the $59M bond vote]
presentation, Tao said the MOU was not incorporated and has no legal effect, and that the district is not guaranteed the opportunity to use the former classrooms at the Community Center.”
“In an interview last week, City Manager Tom Bakaly said that the council has been clear that there is not an interest in turning over the property.”
NOTE: It seems that neither the Hermosa Beach City Council members nor HBCSD School Board members were interested in finding out the truth about the Agreement for the Sale and Purchase of Pier Avenue School. It appears that HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members were happy to throw HBCSD students and Hermosa Beach taxpayers under the bus for the City to retain sole interest in the Community Center.
This is an INCORRECT and MISLEADING statement reported less than one week before the district's $59M bond vote.
CORRECT INFORMATION:
1. The MOU did not need to be signed because the city of Hermosa Beach executed (accepted) the MOU in their meetings of June 14, 1977 and June 28, 1977.
2. The MOU outlined the most important initial negotiated terms of the sale and purchase of Pier Avenue School to start the sale process.
3. Of course the MOU did not reflect all the final terms of the sale. The entire Agreement including the ALL exhibits (including Exhibit G and the MOU) reflected the final sale terms. The final sales terms were accepted by the city when the city council members (Lance Widman, George Schmeltzer, George Barks) signed the final Agreement eight months later on February 28, 1978.
4. HBCSD sold the Pier Avenue School/Community Center to the City of Hermosa Beach for 40% below fair market value and in return retained use of classrooms, offices and storage space when district enrollment exceeded 1,266 students.
Section 4.02 of the MOU states:
“The nature of this memorandum of understanding shall be
construed as being analogous to a lease in that a part of the
consideration for the District selling the subject property to the City
for less than fair market value is the District’s right to use the
subject property facilities without cost as more particularly set forth
below; and,conversely, a part of the consideration the City is giving
to the District, is allowing the District use of the facilities at the
subject property as more particularly set forth below.”
5. The City agreed to the MOU at their meetings of June 14 and June 28, 1977. The City executed all provisions of the MOU when they took out an escrow following the instructions in Article 3 of the MOU. The MOU did not need to be signed since it had already been accepted by the City.
6. HBCSD attorney Terry Tao outright lied and misrepresented nearly all the information he presented at his approximately one-hour May 31, 2016 presentation. Why would he tell the truth on this issue? Please see Terry Tao’s entire presentation with fact checking for the full impact of his misinformation and misleading statements. Terry Tao was not under oath to tell the truth. It is not illegal to lie.
7. The May 31, 2016 presentation at the HBCSD and City of Hermosa Beach Joint meeting was made ONE WEEK before the June 2016 $59M bond vote and was uploaded to the school district website under Measure S information. Terry Tao’s curated misinformation in this presentation cost taxpayers $11k.
8. Correct information was given to Easy Reader reporter Ryan McDonald three months after this meeting (after community members fact checked Terry Tao’s statements). Ryan McDonald did nothing to investigate the allegations of misinformation and collusion by Terry Tao and Pat Escalante. This information was withheld from the public.
9. Correct information was also given to City Council members in the winter of 2016. Apparently, none of the city council members investigated this information on their own. None of the City Council members (Justin Massey, Jeff Duclos, Hany Fangary, Carolyn Petty or Stacey Armato) made this information public. Despite the overwhelming evidence of misleading information and misinformation provided by both HBCSD attorney Terry Tao and HBCSD Superintendent, City Council Justin Massey stated in a private meeting that he did not believe the community members fact checking. Justin Massey's statement apparently also meant that therefore he wasn't going to do anything about the alleged misinformation provided by community members.
EACH and every HBCSD School Board member and every HB City Council member (except Nanette Barragan) from 2002-2020 is responsible for outright lying to the residents of Hermosa Beach by not doing their due diligence to investigate
the Agreement and documents for district use of the Community Center and for hiding the facts from residents.