#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Leadership at Lycée Français resign amid labor law, administrative pay investigations
Two top administrators and a governing board member have resigned from Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans, a popular French immersion charter school, following accusations that the school leaders had violated labor laws and fostered hostile environments for other employees.
Marina Schoen, the longtime CEO of Lycée Français, gave her notice in letters to staff and the school’s nonprofit board of directors on Friday, hours after she said Jethro Celestin, the school’s chief operating officer, will be leaving to “explore other professional opportunities.”
San Diego charter school shutters doors
The school will close at the end of the month and has been working with current students’ families to help them find new schools for the fall. Most of the school’s students, who are in grades 6-12, are socioeconomically disadvantaged and are Black or Latino, according to state data.
Annette Kennedy, the school’s interim director, attributed the school’s closure to low enrollment.
“It’s just not been in the best interest of the school to continue,” Kennedy said in an interview. “It’s truly bittersweet. No one wants a school to close but, in reality, a school has to have enrollment to maintain sustainability.”
Ridge View shut down after allegations of drugs, improper restraints of kids
State officials suddenly closed a detention center for troubled children and teens on Thursday, arrived on campus after a high school graduation ceremony, and moved the children to other foster care centers.
The Ridgeview Youth Service Center, where children attend charter schools on campus and receive intensive treatment for behavioral health, has been ordered by the State Human Services Department to close by July 1.
The center was allowed to accommodate up to 500 people, but was caring for less than 50 boys.
State says former Dayton charter school leaders misspent $31,896
Administrators of the former Watkins Academy charter school in southwest Dayton have been accused by state auditors of misspending $31,896.
Auditor of State Keith Faber this week released the 2016, 2017 and partial 2018 financial-year audits for the school, which opened in 2012 and closed its 4401 Dayton-Liberty Road campus in September 2017.
The state issued findings for recovery of more than $30,000 against the school’s former superintendent, Bobbie Watkins-Tyree, for purchases “that were not supported by an itemized receipt and/or were not for a proper public purpose.”
Singleton Charter in New Orleans ordered to find new CEO; school accused of violating ethics law
James M. Singleton Charter School, the Central City school run by the Dryades YMCA, must find a new interim CEO by Friday because the current appointment runs afoul of state ethics laws, according to NOLA Public Schools.
The directive, sent in a noncompliance letter dated Monday, is the latest of a series of citations NOLA Public Schools has issued against the charter in recent months, including one investigation that led to the arrest of a high-level administrator accused of falsifying background checks for school employees and pocketing the money instead.
Utah oversight of charter schools ‘unclear,’ has gaps in accountability, audit finds
Out of 45 states with charter school programs, Utah is the only state that doesn’t require schools to renew their contracts after a certain period of time — meaning there’s a missed opportunity to ensure standards are being met, Ryan Thelin, lead auditor of the review ordered by the Legislature, told legislative leaders Tuesday during an interim committee meeting.
Aspire ERES students, staff say goodbye to their shuttered Fruitvale charter school
After trying and failing to secure a more permanent location for Aspire ERES Academy to allow for expansion, the charter school’s leaders made the decision this year to permanently close the kindergarten through eighth grade school, which has been housed in a small, run-down church building in Fruitvale for 12 years.
Former charter school operator owes nearly $1 million, New Orleans school district says in suit
The Orleans Parish public school district has sued the nonprofit organization that ran Mary D. Coghill Charter School for years until its charter was canceled, claiming the organization’s board misappropriated public funds and still owes the school district nearly $1 million.
The lawsuit was filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court last month against the Better Choice Foundation, which operated the F-rated school until NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. refused to renew their contract and ordered the district to take it over.
Charter commission flags finances at four schools
The Idaho Public Charter School Commission put four of its schools on notice over their finances during a Thursday meeting, including one under investigation for its use of taxpayer dollars.
The seven-member commission voted unanimously to issue “notifications of fiscal concern” for Monticello Montessori Charter, Peace Valley Charter, Bingham Academy and The Village Charter.
Frederick Classical Charter School put on probation amid governance disputes
The Frederick County Board of Education, during a meeting filled with emotional testimony Wednesday, voted to put Frederick Classical Charter School on probation, aiming to curb what community members described as a hostile and dysfunctional governance system.
Despite the school’s high academic performance, parents and administrators said issues with its governing body, the Board of Trustees, were hindering its basic functions. More than a dozen community members attended Wednesday’s work session, most speaking in favor of the probation and punctuating the meeting with murmurs of agreement.
NC charter school closes after ‘financial irregularities’ found
On Friday morning, the board voted to terminate the school’s charter in an emergency meeting “after painstaking reflection and deliberation.”
That same day, Board Chairwoman Kristis Edison and the Interim Head of School Tom Miller, informed the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Charter Schools of the decision.
St. Paul charter school loses $4.3M with illegal investment in New Jersey hedge fund
A St. Paul charter school last school year invested $5 million in a New Jersey hedge fund, in violation of state law, and most of that money may be lost forever.
Auditors working to close the books on Hmong College Prep Academy’s 2019-20 financials disclosed the mistake to the school’s board during an emergency meeting in December.
The school on Nov. 30 asked the hedge fund, Woodstock Capital Partners, to liquidate the investment, according to board meeting minutes. But multiple deadlines were missed, the hedge fund’s agent never showed up to board meetings, and the school ultimately received just $684,762.
Ammon charter school violated eight special education laws, according to state investigation
Issues at the school include violations of both the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Idaho Special Education Manual. The report outlines a range of “corrective actions” for the school in the coming months.
The SDE’s report surfaces amid a months-long investigation into the embattled charter school’s finances by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission, which includes questions over some $11,500 in unexplained payments and purchases at the school.
Is the Charter Schools Program financing white-flight academies?
North Carolina’s private Hobgood Academy opened its doors in September of 1970. For decades, the overwhelmingly White private school, located near a public school whose students are overwhelmingly Black (90 percent), served as a haven for White families willing to pay tuition rather than send their children to an integrated public school.
However, the privilege of segregation came with a cost — $5,000 a year in tuition that parents decided taxpayers should assume.
Many Unanswered Questions Linger Over PACE Career Academy Closure
Some members of the board of trustees for PACE Career Academy announced its closure last week citing staffing, lack of fundraising, and operational and financial shortfalls. The school was founded a decade ago as PACE, an acronym for the towns of Pembroke, Allenstown, Chichester, and Epsom. It offers an alternative pathway to graduation to assist students in designing their own academic, career, and personal growth path with individualized instruction and small educator-to-student ratios.