LA Public Schools Invested Half A Million Dollars In Failed Scientology After-School Program
July 9 2012, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
By Amber Goodhand - Breaking Celebrity News News Editor
Los Angeles public schools invested nearly half a million dollars into an after-school tutoring program associated with the Church of Scientology, and studies showed it failed.
According to documents and invoices from public records obtained by The Daily, between November 2008 and February 2012 the district doled out $447,338 to Applied Scholastics International — which is based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's founder.
After-school tutoring programs are required under the No Child Left Behind law and even with Applied Scholastic's theories tied to L. Ron Hubbard, officials are adamant that it's a separate entity from the Church of Scientology.
There are 12 states that use Applied Scholastics across America and Luis Mora, who over-sees after-school tutoring in Los Angeles, told The Daily that the program is small.
“Are we excited or are we impressed about the type of contribution they make to our students’ performance? No,” she said.