The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized 20 boxes containing documents from the Facilities Services Division of the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District, as part of the ongoing investigation into the unsuccessful plan of the district to acquire iPad tablets for teachers and students within the city.
The documents are connected with the procurement practices of the Common Core Technology Project, according to Superintendent Ramon Cortines.
The Common Core Technology Project, which was spearheaded by the district's previous superintendent, John Deasy, set aside as much as $1.3 billion worth of bond money for the iPads and the infrastructure and curriculum software required for the tablets.
According to Cortines, the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is the second-biggest school system in the United States, will be offering its complete cooperation to the authorities for the duration of the ongoing investigation.
The inspector general of the school district had previously criticized the release of iPads to the schools within the system, saying back in July that equipment worth a total amount of $2.1 million was either missing or unaccounted for.
In August, Deasy decided to suspend the Common Core Technology Project. Then, in September, the inspector general revealed that the poor inventory management processes of the district made it vulnerable to iPads being lost or stolen.
Deasy was questioned by members of school boards on whether his current connections with executives working for Apple and Pearson, the supplier of the educational software that was included in the project, were able to influence the process on how the contracts were awarded.
Deasy resigned after receiving the allegations, although he has denied any form of wrongdoing relating to the accusations against him.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that the investigation is ongoing but refused to reveal any further details. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller also declined to comment on the investigation.
Cortines returned to being the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District back in October after Deasy's resignation. In a statement posted on the website of the district, Cortines said that he is looking to restart the procurement for 27 schools within the district, which will begin receiving the iPads at the start of the 2015-2016 school year.
Cortines added that the district will be using another contract with Apple for the acquisition of the iPads and another contract with a different vendor, Arey Jones, for the acquisition of Chromebooks, to allow students to use the devices in preparing tests in the spring.
