LAUSD consultants cost $77 million more

Los Angeles Unified officials should adopt a host of tough measures to rein in the power of costly private consultants or face "a loss of government control" of the district's massive $27 billion school construction project, according to an audit released Monday. George B. Sanchez in the Daily News.

The audit by Inspector General Jerry Thornton found that consultants had taken over much of the day-to-day running of the building program and that there were no policies "limiting the types of functions consultants may perform."

Focusing on the 2006-07 school year, the audit said that the district may have saved $77 million that year had they used their own employees rather than consultants.