In the face of a growing fund-raising controversy, LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer has released a list of donors to his Friends of L.A. Schools public relations fund and, to paraphrase Johnny Caspar, "ethically, it's a little shaky".

According to the Daily News:

"Friends of L.A. Schools Inc., which Romer formed in February just days after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his support for plans to break up the district, received single donations of $10,000 from investment bank Goldman Sachs, DMJM building consultants, Turner Construction and publishers Harcourt Inc. and Pearson Education - all of which have contracts totaling millions of dollars with the school district."

Romer, natch, claims that he would never, never let double-secret slush fund contributions from contractors doing business with the District affect the LAUSD's contract bidding process. That may come as a surprise to the folks who shelled out money to his fund, unless they did, truly, give him money out of the kindness of their corporate hearts.

But, as the aforementioned "businessman" Johnny Caspar also said: "Now, if you can't trust a fix, what can you trust?"

It seems at least possible that some donors were hedging their bets, thereby ensuring the fix would stay in. Suggesting otherwise strains credulity.  ¶ 9:48 PM