Letter to the Editor:
My name is Anita Schackmann. I am a 48-year resident of Burbank, a proud parent of three children who went all the way through Burbank Unified schools, and a former educator who served BUSD as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and district Human Resources administrator.
Like many in the Burbank community, I’ve been following the recent reports regarding questionable consultant contracts, excessive consultant payouts, and potential conflicts of interest within the Burbank Unified School District. These issues are currently under investigation by the Burbank Police Department and an independent third-party firm, the Sobel Group. What has already come to light is deeply troubling. It points to a disturbing lack of oversight, and in my opinion, responsibility must be shared across multiple individuals.
However, I feel compelled to speak about one individual in particular: Mr. Andy Cantwell. As the Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, Mr. Cantwell occupies a role that requires financial oversight and critical evaluation of expenditures. Yet these highly irregular consultant contracts apparently went unnoticed. The pay warrants associated with these agreements were unusual, excessive, and appeared unreasonable for what amounted to very little work. It wasn’t merely the approval of the contracts that is concerning—it was the follow-up payments, lack of invoicing, and the absence of meaningful oversight regarding the services the consultants were meant to provide.
On May 1st, the BUSD Board of Education approved Mr. Cantwell’s promotion to Chief Administrative Officer, effective July 1st. In this new role, among other duties, he will be responsible for overseeing the expenditure of Measure ABC bond dollars—millions of taxpayer dollars intended to support and improve our schools. While there is a School Facilities Oversight Committee in place for bond expenditures, those individuals rely heavily on District Staff for accurate information.
Given the current context, I believe it is prudent and necessary for the Board of Education to reconsider this appointment. I respectfully request that the Board consider rescinding or pausing Mr. Cantwell’s appointment and bring this matter back for open discussion as an agendized item at a future Board meeting before July 1st, before Mr. Cantwell’s multi-year contract becomes effective. We need to understand Mr. Cantwell’s role in these questionable consultant agreements before his promotion is effective. Our community deserves transparency, accountability, and above all, trustworthy leadership—especially when it involves the stewardship of public funds.
Anita Schackmann
Burbank
