James Sohn
He is a LEED accredited professional, licensed general contractor in the state of California and a member of the London-based think tank, International Institute of Strategic Studies.[1] James Sohn initially worked as a consultant at LAUSD prior to becoming a Senior Project Manager for Robert F. Kennedy Community Learning Center.[8] This includes costs that exceed pre-approved amounts by 50% and additional contracts worth $31 million without school board approval.[10] An audit by the Los Angeles City Controller, Wendy Greuel, showed that prior to 2006 there was a lack of controls and that a potential existed for conflict of interests to occur regarding consultant use at the LAUSD Facilities bond program, but noted that: "from 2006 to the present day the district has undergone a dramatic improvement and has done a good job ensuring the integrity of the selection process.[13] Agency CM is an attempt to replace the old consultant model of billing for an hourly rate in favor of a lump sum task order.Superintendent Ramon Cortines and Chief of Facilities James Sohn have both stated that consultants have been reduced in far greater numbers than district staff.Teamsters claim this is in violation of California Education code 45308, which state “classified employees shall be subject to layoff for lack of work or lack of funds.”[16] During the Board meeting to discuss BOE-253 - 09/10, Superintendent Cortines pushed for the approval of the consultant contracts[citation needed], against the wishes of Board member Yolie Flores, who wanted more time to discuss.A former LAUSD Construction Department employee, Bassam Raslan, employed before James Sohn's tenure as Chief, but who remained until 2010, was arrested and indicted by a grand jury for conflict of interest charges.[26][27][28] [29] These issues included complaints from faculty regarding quality issues affecting some of the completed buildings, buildings which were completed later than their original schedule,[30] concerns whether or not the green energy initiatives would recoup their investment,[31] consultant billing rates, lack of external citizen oversight, lack of an OIG, and construction contracts which were cancelled after work began due to budget shortfalls.The Valley Health and Science Center, mentioned in the series, would win the Western Council of Construction Consumers 2009 Distinguished Project Award.