A former Los Angeles Unified School District curriculum director has been accused by district officials of secretly ordering more than $4 million of his own, unauthorized math instruction materials for use in city classrooms.
Matthias Vheru reaped more than $930,000 in royalties after he sidestepped the approval process for textbooks and then shifted district funds to purchase nearly 46,000 copies of the textbooks, workbooks and teaching aids, according to Los Angeles Unified officials and a lawsuit filed by the district.
Vheru's wife, a former math teacher in the district, and the books' publishing company are named in the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the couple and Coordination Group Publications denied the claims.
Vheru and his wife, Blandina, resigned from the district in April.
The case came to light Thursday in an annual report submitted to school board members by district Inspector General Jerry Thornton. Along with several other inquiries and audits, his office investigated the allegations against Vheru and uncovered alleged irregularities in salary payments he received from the district.
Hired as a math teacher in 1982, Vheru, 55, held several administrative positions before taking over as interim director of math in January 2004.
In that position, Vheru allegedly added the algebra instructional materials he wrote for Coordination Group Publications to a list of supplemental texts that had been approved by a curriculum committee, said Kevin Reed, an attorney for the district.
From May 18 to June 18, 2004, court records show, Vheru placed three orders with the publisher on behalf of the district for copies of his books, which are aimed at helping students learn the algebra material required by state standards.
To cover more than $3 million of the costs, Vheru illegally used federal education funds that had been earmarked for programs that assist nonnative English speakers, the lawsuit alleges. The remaining money came from other district funds, officials said.
Reed said Vheru was able to make the purchases undetected because of his temporary status as the district's math chief.
Officials first became aware of the books when they arrived on campuses and administrators raised questions about them.
"There weren't sufficient checks in place," said L.A. Unified Supt. Roy Romer, who has ordered staff to tighten oversight of book purchases.
