Rochester Leadership Academy Charter School

PARENTS ANGRY OVER SECRET CHARTER SCHOOL SETTLEMENT; March 22, 2010; 13WHAM.com (Rochester, N.Y.) 

A lawsuit between a charter school forced to shut down by the state and the company that managed the school has been settled, but few people know what happened to the settlement money.

The Rochester Leadership Academy Charter School was one of the first in the region when it opened in 2000…

By 2005, student performance had not met targets, and the state closed the school.

“We were very upset and disappointed. There was a lot of crying. There was a lot of kids, parents in disarray again,” said George Moses, who sent his daughter to RLA…

Last fall, the RLA board of directors filed a lawsuit against National Heritage Academies, the company that ran RLA. The suit claims NHA was responsible for the school’s failure and breached its contract with RLA.

The two sides settled the case earlier this month. 13WHAM News obtained the settlement, which has a confidentiality clause. The agreement says NHA would pay RLA $175,000. The RLA board would direct the funds to a non-profit of its choosing.

13WHAM News was unable to find out where the money is now and which non-profit would benefit. RLA board president John Walker did not return two calls for comment. RLA’s attorney also did not return a call. An NHA spokeswoman said the company could not comment because of the confidentiality agreement, but said the company has met its legal obligation…

Moses said he also asked Page what happened to the funds. Moses said Page told him the funds were supposed to be directed to NEAD. Page did not comment, citing the confidentiality agreement he signed as part of the settlement. Moses said NEAD may now take legal action to obtain the funds…