"first charter school executive elected to the governing board of the nation’s second-largest school system . . . pleads guilty to conspiracy and resigns"

LAT:

He became board president as a result of a first-ever majority elected with substantial financial support from charter school backers.

...

But the campaign finance problems surfaced within months of his becoming board president. Rodriguez had known about the investigation for as long as two years but had kept the matter secret from his board colleagues, according to other school board members.