“Quest Academy board considers disciplining other school employees.” KTNV 13 News (NV), 1/30/2013
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- It was another late night on Tuesday at Quest Academy...Principal Connie Jordan was fired for abusing her authority and using taxpayer dollars for personal gain...A former employee wrote a letter to the board saying the high school administration is incompetent and self-serving...Also facing action Tuesday night was business manager Robin Vitiello and office manager Melissa Hester. Board members told Hester that school video cameras caught her and Jordan destroying records in Jordan's office last Monday when the school was closed for Martin Luther King Day.The auditor that Quest hired found checks cut to Robin Vitiello that appeared to be unapproved bonuses. There are also allegations that she was forced to kick some of that money back to former principal Jordan.
Board member Linda Kuhn pointed out, however, that they're not the only entity investigating allegations and that this may be far from over as the case is in the hands of the Attorney General...
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“Quest Academy audit sparks emergency action.”KTNV 13 News (NV), 1/22/2013
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- ... Contact 13 began reporting on Quest in November amid allegations from Miller and other parents and staff about misuse of school money.Though the State Public Charter School Authority investigated the allegations and found evidence of fiscal malfeasance and abuse of authority, the Quest governing board hired a private auditor to investigate further.Almost $270,000 tax dollars are in question.Contact 13 obtained the just-released forensic audit of Quest's finances...Some of the report centers around Quest Principal Connie Jordan and $15,000 she took in June 2011. The auditor found her explanations for that money are bogus...In October, 2011, Quest credit cards show more than $4,300 in travel expenses and more than $500 at Walmart for three Kindles, food items and gift cards.On Connie Jordan's card in November 2011, he found more than $1200 spent on meals, postage, travel, gift cards, a frame, food and tools.And Jordan spent $5600 more of your tax dollars. At Barnes and Noble she bought eight Nooks and Nook accessories.At Best Buy: DVDs, a Nintendo DSi and two Turtle Beach Call of Duty video game headsets.At Walmart: a blu-ray player, movies, clothes, board games, music, Wii games and a lava lamp...The auditor also found tens of thousands in irregular payments to Jordan and several other school administrators: checks that circumvented the normal payroll process and the board.The auditor says those checks may indicate that Jordan forced a few employees to kickback money to her from their paychecks...Reacting to the auditor's findings, the Quest board took emergency action Monday to secure and protect the school.They took away Principal Jordan's ability to hire and fire, and froze all of her access to school money...
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“You Paid for It: Quest Academy.”KTNV Las Vegas (NV), 11/19/2012
Teachers quitting, parents enraged and demanding answers, and students caught in the middle. That's what's going on at a local school under investigation by the state. And it's raising issues of abuse of authority and waste of your tax dollars...Teachers are quitting, citing a hostile work environment. Five have left in just the last month...It all stems from allegations against Quest Academy Principal Connie Jordan and most of the school's governing board.Multiple school employees and one board member have filed formal complaints with the State Public Charter School Authority.In a Nov. 2 letter to the Quest board, the authority says the issues raised in those multiple complaints suggest "among other transgressions, fiscal malfeasance on the part of the school's administrator and a lack of governing body oversight of the school."...Lucretia Glidewell was contracted as Quest's financial manager. She told the state in her complaint that she was forced to kickback $1,000 a month out of her paycheck to the principal in order to keep her contract.She also told the state she was "asked to help cover up illegal practices" regarding three $5,000 checks, which she calls an unapproved "bonus" the principal gave to herself...[Principal] Connie Jordan told the crowd to wait for the state's findings...She's also facing allegations that she "falsified documents" to the state -- altering her contract to explain the checks as a payout of unused personal time off...... One week after [assistant principal ] made allegations of wrongdoing to the board, she was placed on paid administrative leave...While the Charter School Authority conducts its investigation, the Quest governing board will be spending more tax dollars to hire outside companies to audit and investigate their school...
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A website devoted to this situation @ http://questacademylvexposed.blogspot.com/
Letter (11/2/2012) to Quest Academy Governing Body President from State Public Charter School Authority:
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