School districts like San Diego Unified rely on bonds to fund things like the installation of air conditioning units or the purchase of iPads for use in the classroom. Proposition 39 made it easier for bonds to be passed, and it required an oversight committee to ensure that funds are spent responsibly.
And that’s where the Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee comes in. Andrew Berg is chair of the committee, which serves as the public watchdog when it comes to how school bond dollars are spent. He is also head of a local chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, which lobbies on behalf of the very electricians who work for the school districts.
Berg said the fact that he simultaneously holds these two positions is an inconsequential detail, but the California League of Bond Oversight Committees isn’t so sure.
NBC 7’s Monica Dean and Voice of San Diego’s Ashly McGlone shed light on the citizen committee that oversees how millions of taxpayer dollars collected and spent by local government officials. They also detail Berg’s dual roles, how they intersect and why it matters on this week’s San Diego Explained.