California fumes over Dolly Parton program lacking $1M

California has a brand new third rail in politics: Don’t mess with Dolly!

Throughout an almost three-hour listening to Tuesday, state Senators Sasha Renée Peréz (D-Pasadena) and Shannon Grove (R-Fresno) ripped into California State Librarian Greg Lucas and a department-linked nonprofit for burning greater than $1 million in taxpayer cash designed to assist nation music icon Dolly Parton’s baby literacy program.

In March The Put up reported on a listening to that targeted on roughly $650,000 in unaccounted-for spending tied to Dolly Parton’s Creativeness Library. 

New paperwork and testimony this week present the issues go a lot additional — with potential self-dealing, primary accounting errors and skinny documentation on how taxpayer cash was spent.

Peréz shortly zeroed in on the shortage of solutions Tuesday, demanding extra accountability on the place the cash went as there may be nonetheless “an actual lack of know-how.”

“Mr. Lucas, transferring ahead, I simply wish to spotlight that it’s my expectation that the State Library, when they’re overseeing a nonprofit, that they’re offering tighter oversight and accountability round these points,” she stated. 

The State Library additionally didn’t ship the Dollywood Basis a required $61 million-plus inside 45 days as required, and lawmakers nonetheless don’t have clear numbers on what number of books the library and its now-defunct nonprofit really delivered to youngsters.

In 2022, the state launched a $68.2 million baby literacy effort and the Robust Reader Partnership, a nonprofit, was arrange by the State Library to assist run it. However after a sluggish rollout, lawmakers stepped in to claw again the cash and ordered the majority of the funds to be redirected to the Dollywood Basis. 

However even after that shift, the state-created nonprofit spent about $1.1 million in funds — with roughly $1 million going to only three companies.

Probably the most obvious problem includes Sage Methods, which was paid $326,250.99 for consulting work. The agency’s CEO, Sonya Harris, additionally served because the Robust Reader Partnership’s government director. 

Whereas the contract with Robust Reader Partnership explicitly forbade the nonprofit from lobbying on laws, Peréz and Grove famous throughout Tuesday’s committee listening to that e mail data present Harris and her nonprifit lobbied towards a invoice that eliminated management of the e book mission’s cash from the group’s management.

“Simply frankly, you guys failed,” Grove stated.

“You possibly can’t inform me what college students you enrolled. You’re piggybacking and say you get credit score for what Dolly Parton’s Creativeness Library did.”

Invoices for Sage Methods’ work provided little element, usually itemizing solely “basic consulting” with out explaining what was really carried out, based on a committee report.

One other $581,708.55 went to advertising and marketing agency Shipyard, together with $125,000 for a “internet digital touchdown web page.” Grove stated within the listening to that the webpage doesn’t exist.

A 3rd agency, Lotus Monetary Resolution, collected $110,000 for bookkeeping — together with a $40,000 setup payment and $7,000 per 30 days prices — regardless of the nonprofit dealing with fewer than 100 complete transactions.

Including extra questions, the Robust Reader Partnership nonetheless incurred an overdraft payment and had checks bounce for inadequate funds.

Lawmakers additionally discovered the nonprofit overstated funds by $101,788.50 to Sage Methods and $10,974.50 to the regulation agency Delfino Madden resulting from double counting.

On Tuesday, Grove known as the invoices from a number of contractors “very obscure.”

Peréz stated after the listening to that key questions are nonetheless unanswered. 

“Whereas I recognize their participation in these public hearings, essential gaps stay between the data the committee has been requesting and the documentation and responses offered,” she stated. 

“Now we have an obligation to make use of state funds responsibly and transparently.”

Regardless of the turmoil, the Dollywood Basis reported robust leads to serving to get books into the palms of California youngsters. 

The preliminary $1.5 million lined greater than 1 million books, and between July 2023 and July 2024 this system enrolled 85,401 kids, together with 46,530 new sign-ups.

Since June 2023, this system says it has reached 163,104 youngsters and delivered 2.9 million books statewide.

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