An Open Letter on Recent Media Reports
Recent media reports have raised allegations about Pegasus California School and me that are politically driven, unfounded, and dramatically exaggerated.These reports relate specifically to a three-year pilot diploma program conducted with the Val Verde Unified School District (VVUSD), which concluded in 2020. Pegasus California School continues to operate independently; this pilot program has not been active since.
Pegasus was a program built on a simple belief: that students learn better when they are exposed to peers from different backgrounds and cultures. It was established at a time when cross-Pacific educational exchange was actively encouraged, and hundreds of similar programs continue to exist across the country. Legal counsel for the VVUSD reviewed the program, and the School Board unanimously approved it through a resolution and MOU. The former State Superintendent of Public Instruction signed another MOU. The State Superintendent and the School Board were excited to showcase and promote California and its school system internationally. Since then Pegasus has earned full accreditation from Cognia, one of the world’s largest school accreditation agencies, and continues to uphold rigorous academic standards.
Contrary to what has been reported, the audit confirms that there was no material use of public funds in connection with our program. The only expenditures identified were the cost of printing 75 diplomas and minimal staff time to verify student names. It is worth noting that based on the MOU, Pegasus was responsible for paying for travel, lodging, and meals to China for many low income Val Verde students each year. The program promoted exchanges in academics, language, culture, athletics, and visual and performing arts. The Val Verde students would not have had the opportunity of a lifetime for cultural enrichment but for this collaboration.
The audit at the center of this sensationalist coverage states plainly: “Larson LLP is not making a final determination that fraud, misappropriation of funds and/or assets, or other illegal fiscal practices have occurred.” Nowhere does it conclude that Pegasus engaged in any wrongdoing or guaranteed admission to any university. The media coverage, riddled with suppositions and conjecture, reads as a cheap political hit job. This flawed news story has been weaponized by MAGA acolytes on right-wing media to stoke fears of Chinese students infiltrating the American education system. That narrative is false, it is dangerous, and it does a disservice to the hundreds of students whose lives were genuinely enriched by this program.
That article conveniently fails to mention that this is the fourth audit conducted in five years — and it is the first to raise any concerns. In 2020, VVUSD conducted an internal audit following a complaint by a disgruntled former employee. It found no wrongdoing. In 2021, the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) commissioned an independent audit by the Investigation Law Group. No wrongdoing was reported. RCOE then launched its own review, commissioning the state agency Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) to investigate. When FCMAT's findings were not to its liking, the County asked it to redo the investigation — twice. When that still failed to produce the desired result, the County sued FCMAT to block its report from ever being released publicly. It then hired the same law firm it had retained to sue FCMAT to conduct the fourth and final audit. That is the only audit now being reported as definitive.
Four politically driven audits over five years have produced zero charges and zero law enforcement action. To our knowledge, no party has even been contacted by any law enforcement agency whatsoever. The headline directly contradicts the reporter’s own story, which plainly acknowledges that the status of any such investigation is “unclear.” The California Fair Political Practices Commission also separately reviewed the matter and declined to pursue it.
We believe in our program. We believe that a Chinese student who learns alongside American peers, and an American student who experiences life in China, returns home with something no classroom can teach. That mission was and remains worth defending. We have nothing to hide and no apologies to make. It is a shame that something created in good faith to promote understanding and build bridges between two great nations has been reduced to a political weapon by those with nefarious agendas of their own. We stand by every student who walked through our doors, every friendship forged across the Pacific, and every family who trusted us with their child's education.
We invite you to read the MOU and VVUSD board resolution and decide for yourself.
Steven Ma
04/22/2026
