Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School

“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must move on.” The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013

NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the handwriting on the wall last year with the Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School in Newark when federal officials filed a lawsuit against the school...

The embattled charter school, opened in 2007 by longtime activist Fredrica Bey, had been on probation for more than a year. The school is also facing a complaint by the U.S. Attorney’s office which contends Bey took $345,325 in federal grant money earmarked for programs to keep "at-risk" youths off of the streets and instead used it used it to pay bills for the Women In Support of the Million Man March, a non-profit community group she started in 1995.

The state also expressed concerns about the conflicts of interest between the school’s leadership and the school’s agreement to lease space from WISOMMM...

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“Special report: Born in hope, Newarkcharter school now embroiled in controversy.” The Star-Ledger (NJ), 5/5/2013

NEWARK — Linda Newton enrolled her 8-year-old son at Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School to shield him from the ills that afflict many of Newark’s regular public schools.

She has regretted that decision every day since.

Last summer, nearly all of the troubled school’s two dozen teachers resigned, and students were hastily relocated to a downtown building that parents say is not equipped for their children. Some students climb five flights of stairs to reach their classrooms in the hulking former church.

Other kids have no classrooms at all, sharing space in a vast multipurpose room where academic instruction is often interrupted by the clapping and stomping of a dance class some 50 feet away.

Parents and teachers complain of a shortage of textbooks, an insufficient heating system and a lack of discipline for rowdy students, leading to fights and bullying.

At least half of the 339 kids enrolled on the first day of school have left, though some have been replaced with new recruits, the parents and teachers said. Test scores are among the bottom 10 percent in the state...

But a Star-Ledger examination of the school and its leadership reveals a faltering institution that provides bare-bones learning facilities while using millions of dollars in state and federal aid, bolstering a real estate fiefdom controlled by the school’s founder, Fredrica Bey.

A fiery community activist with political pull, Bey has come under intense scrutiny by both the state Department of Education and the U.S. Justice Department, which accuses her of fraud in a civil suit. That case, unrelated to Adelaide Sanford, is expected to come to trial later this year, barring a last-minute settlement.

The Star-Ledger review found that school officials — including Bey’s daughter and longtime friends — approved hugely inflated rental payments to Women in Support of the Million Man March, a community group Bey founded, for space the school doesn’t use. An attorney who specializes in nonprofit law said the arrangement smacks of a "sham transaction."

At the same time, investigators with the state Education Department determined Bey may have broken the law by using a possibly invalid school lease as the bedrock document to obtain an $8.27 million loan. The investigators recommended that the Division of Criminal Justice look into the matter.

The newspaper’s examination — encompassing court records, Education Department reports, financial documents and dozens of interviews — also found a pattern of recalcitrance by Bey and school officials, who repeatedly ignored state directives, according to documents obtained under the Open Public Records Act.

In particular, the state has accused Adelaide Sanford for more than a year of refusing to comply with regulations, turn over records or eliminate clear conflicts of interest, chiefly the dual roles Bey held as executive director of both the school and her group, known in the community by its acronym, WISOMMM...

Revered by some and feared by others, Bey, 68, has built a reputation as a powerful figure in New Jersey’s largest city, with friends in political, cultural and activist circles, along with a direct line to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

But she has also periodically drawn scrutiny from law enforcement officials investigating allegations of fraud. Most recently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office last year sued Bey and WISOMMM, alleging violations of the False Claims Act...

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Desert Heights Charter School

“4 charter-school organizations where insiders benefited.” The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 

For several years, [Desert Heights Charter School] had an agreement with Waterhouse Management, owned by a board member of the non-profit school, Richard Waterhouse. From fiscal 2007 through 2011, the firm was paid at least $1 million, according to federal tax returns. In 2009 and again in 2010 and 2011, auditors questioned the transaction, saying the value of the agreement for contracted business services is “not supported by documentation that provides the method and/or rationale for how such fees for services were determined to be fair value.”..

... In August 2011, school-board minutes show the board removed Waterhouse as CEO and board member and terminated the business contract “for material breach of contract.”...

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New Millennium Institute of Education

“Troubled New Millennium charter school keeps getting second chances.” Fresno Bee (CA), 9/16/2012

In February 2011, after a decade of dismal performance, the New Millennium charter school in west Fresno turned to Dr. Ernie Smith for help...

As he dug in, Smith said he was unprepared for the sheer level of dysfunction he encountered at New Millennium -- and the hands-off attitude of Fresno Unified...

Students were coming and going in an independent study program that lacked even the pretense of accounting, Smith said. The program was so poorly run that the publicly funded school was having to pay back nearly $1 million in ADA (Average Daily Attendance) money to the state because of administrative lapses.

There was no central record keeping, Smith said. Instead, student transcripts and other files were tossed into boxes. The school had gone through seven principals and superintendents over a nine-year span. The oversight was so lax that counselors were receiving paychecks and not coming to work.

Among the no-shows was Cal Johnson, a trustee on the Fresno Unified School Board who is paid $3,600 a month to act as a "crisis counselor" at New Millennium.

Johnson skipped work for weeks at a time even as he was attending school board meetings...

"It was more than a mess," Smith said. "The entire staff seemed to be friends or relatives of each other. It was a nest of nepotism...

"The school -- and there is no easy way to say this -- is not providing an adequate education for the kids who go there," Smith said. "Instead, it's become a cash cow for a handful of people. And Fresno Unified is sitting on its duff and not doing anything about it."...

More than two dozen interviews with former teachers, administrators and community leaders, as well as a review of hundreds of pages of official documents, detail a decade-long pattern of a charter school repeatedly violating state education codes and a school district unwilling to hold it accountable. Each violation by the school, each broken promise to clean up its act ended with Fresno Unified giving New Millennium another chance...

"There aren't any benchmarks at New Millennium," said Sanchez, who worked at the school for nearly a decade, rising up the ranks to lead teacher. "The teachers are winging it. They have no way to assess students.

"Fresno Unified has let the school off the hook. It hasn't done its oversight."

In an interview last week, Brown says the school is doing its job, and that Smith, Sanchez and Biedermann simply are nursing a grudge.

"There is nobody bringing up issues except these three disgruntled former employees," he said. "All of their statements are not factual."...

But Smith and other critics say the charter school, whose enrollment has fluctuated from 200 to 500 students, should have been shut down years ago.

In a confidential report to the Fresno Unified School Board in July 2009, the district's charter review team found that the school was failing to provide students with an adequate education. The report noted that the school was continuing to violate numerous terms of its operating agreement with Fresno Unified -- clear grounds for revocation under state education law...

(h/t to the Fresno State journalism students who wrote this piece)

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VLT (Value Learning and Teaching) Academy

“Audit flags ethics questions at charter school.” Cincinnati Enquirer (OH), 9/11/2012

A local charter school overpaid an employee $3,333 and committed possible ethics violations, according to the Ohio Auditor’s Office...

In one case, the school accepted a bid from a janitorial company even though it was higher than other bids. The company’s owner works for the school and is married to the superintendent. In the other case, the superintendent signed a $17,000 summer contract for her daughter. Both are potential conflicts of interest...

Lee said the school has been contracting with the janitorial company for years and has not had any prior issues. But in 2009, The Enquirer reported that the auditor’s office flagged the same janitorial service company contract in 2007, noting the potential conflict of interest.

VLT is one of the larger charter schools in the area, serving around 800 students in grades K-12. Its academic rating last year was Continuous Improvement, the third highest of six categories on the Ohio Report Card...

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Florida charter schools (investigator observations)

“Experiences As A Police Officer With The Ugly Side Of Charter Schools And Their Management Companies.” Florida Public Employees Partnership, 12/15/2011 

With such a strong push for continued expansion in Florida, I am compelled to share my experiences as a police officer with the ugly side of Charter Schools and their management companies. As a former investigator and supervisor of a public corruption unit, several years ago my unit was responsible for a series of criminal investigations involving personnel, owners, and partners of Charter Schools. Where as some of these investigations resulted in schools being shut down and arrests others culminated in utter frustration resulting from criminals getting away with fraud. A fact made possible by industry wide practices that benefit from weak laws and the impossibility of effective industry oversight. 

During the course of these investigations members of my unit worked with a host of local, state, and federal investigators. One of which became the target of a multi-state Federal Bureau of Investigations criminal investigation. Where as, I do not claim to be an expert in the business of running Charter Schools my investigative experience provided a good insight into the big businesses of collecting Tax Dollars for educating public school children. It is from this insight that I share the following:

In everyone of our investigative cases, the schools were set up as nonprofit organizations. Most hired management companies to oversee the day to day operation of the schools. They all had a Board of Directors, had applied for and granted a Charter to be a school from local school districts as governed by Florida State Statute 1002.33 http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/. Their main source of revenue was per pupil funding – called Full Time Equivalent (FTE). Some received more funding based on student disabilities.  In every case the drive to recruit more students was the primary focus of the schools and management companies. Most schools had received additional funding from available grants and all claimed Tax Exemptions as nonprofit organizations.

In just about every case the founders of the Charter Schools had ties to the Board of Directors which authorized the hiring of the management companies to run the schools. Even worse, we discovered the owners of the management companies were either the same as the school founders or were directly connected to them.  All of which revealed major conflicts of interests in most of the decisions made on the spending of Tax Dollars and education of students.

Like the Miami Herald’s Charter Schools expose, we confirmed the common practice of management companies charging for the leasing of school site facilities, vehicles, and materials. Items that were either owned by the management company or linked to their owners.  A practice that was followed with exorbitant management fees charged for services that often could not be explained, were unjustified, or could have been done by school staff for less. In all, these companies’ rule over all matters of business resulted in the majority of the schools’ money being collected by the management company or vendors of their choice without the benefit of competitive bids.

Internally, school staff like teachers, school administrators, and other staff were generally paid less than their public school counterparts. Staff had no benefit of collective bargaining, union representation and as such were at will employees.  Teachers were commonly discovered to be teaching out of field. Interviews revealed there were individuals hired with minimal to no qualifications to teach or perform the job functions of their assignments. The majority of these schools were found to be ill equipped with teaching materials that often were substandard to those in public schools.  The lack of common resources available in public school districts was a constant...

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Fulton Science Academy Middle School

(Updated 6/5/2012)

NOTE: Also see entry about Georgia Gulen charter schools HERE. 

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“Fulton Science Academy Shifts to Private.”Johns Creek Patch, 5/29/2012

The Alpharetta school's charter ends this week as it shifts from a public middle school to a private Pre-K through 8th grade school charging $8,500 annual tuition.

Fulton Science Academy Middle School's charter expires after Thursday, May 31, as the school continues its quest to reopen in the fall as a private school open to all students Pre-K through 8th grade in Georgia.

Tuition starts at $8,000 with another $300 in application and enrollment fees...

The school announced it is registered under Georgia GOAL Scholarship program, which allows state tax credits for scholarship donations...

The FSA Private School Financial Aid Application will be available its website soon. The financial aid requests will be determined starting in July 2012.

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“State Board Denies FultonScience Academy Middle School Charter; Many Sandy Springs students attend FSA. Board members criticize the school's Governing Board and management over noncompliance, bond issues.” SandySpringsPatch, 5/10/2012

Fulton Science Academy Middle School lost its appeal to the state Board of Education for a charter this morning, so the school will be closed in July.

The school's charter through Fulton County Schools expires June 30...

The school's governance and financial stability were called into question, particularly regarding the issuance of $19 million in bonds and the construction work on a new school campus.

State Board Member Dan Israel said even though bond documents say the state, county and city aren't liable for anything doesn't mean they can't be sued...

"The Fulton Science Academy Governing Board and school management have acted during the past five months as if the state charter process is an opportunity for them to strike a deal so they can have a charter. The state charter process is instead an appeal by the school to the state," [Board member Linda Zechmann] said...

"Thirty more days won't change a thing," said Board member Brian Burdette. "They had the opportunity to work with the department and that didn't happen."

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“Fulton Science Academy, State Don't Agree; While the middle school's governing board believes it has met requirements and answered all questions for its state charter application, the Department of Education still sees problems.” Alpharetta-MiltonPatch, 5/8/2012

Fulton Science Academy Middle School has spent $5.78 million to buy land and start construction of a new campus that its students seem unlikely to ever occupy. By mid-summer, there may be no school at all.

The state Board of Education will receive a recommendation to deny the school's charter petition at its May 10 meeting. A month later it is scheduled to vote on the petition.

The school's current charter with Fulton County Schools expires June 30.

The school sent a response to the recommendation for denial — "Supplemental Information for the FSA MS State Chartered Special School Petition", signed by Governing Board president Ayhan Korucu — but that may not sway the state board. (A pdf version of Korucu's plea, without supporting documents, can be found with this article.)

Lou Erste, Charter Schools Division director for the Georgia Department of Education, says the information in the May 4 letter wasn't enough to change the recommendation for denial.

"The answers provided by FSAMS in their unsolicited response to our April 30, 2012 denial letter are almost completely nonresponsive to the issues we raised in our letter," Erste said via email to Patch...

The school spent at least $2.7 million to buy land on Fanfare Way in Alpharetta. The school bought the land before the state approved the site, and started construction before a site plan and building design were even submitted for approval, all of which the state said were required.

But to pay for the land and build the school, $18.9 million in bonds were sold, and that has put its sister schools — Fulton Sunshine Academy and Fulton Science Academy High School — at risk, as all three schools are liable for the bond repayments...

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“Uncertainty faces Fulton Science Academy as state mulls charter application; Decision on charter renewal likely to come after end of school year.” Johns Creek Herald (GA), 3/29/2012

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The fate of the Fulton Science Academy Middle School will likely not be determined by the end of the current school year, leaving parents, students and school staff in a state of flux for at least three more months.

In December, the Fulton County School Board rejected the charter school's application for a charter renewal, effectively severing the relationship between the school district and the academically successful charter school. FSA has been in operation for 10 years in Fulton County and was recently named a National School of Excellence...

With local options exhausted, FSA applied to the state Department of Education (GDOE) in December to become a state charter school beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.

According to state officials, the final decision will be made by the state Board of Education in June, once the application has been thoroughly reviewed...

The indecision over the plans for FSA also impacts local middle schools, which are looking at two enrollment projections for next school year: one with FSA students returning, and one without.

In the meantime, construction has stopped on a new school building in Alpharetta that was intended to house FSA Middle School, FSA High School and the elementary school, Fulton Sunshine Academy. The school, which is being funded by an $18 million bond, is on hold, pending the state approval of the charter. If approved, FSA officials say they anticipate construction to be complete by January 2013.

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“FSA fails to satisfy state about school site permit; Second letter to charter school says state has concerns as FSA continues to build.” Appen Newspapers (GA), 1/31/2012 

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — An application for a site approval permit from the Fulton Science Academy (FSA) still fails to meet the state's litmus test after a second attempt to submit documents was returned by the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE).

The charter middle school is moving forward with plans to build an $18 million K-12 campus in Alpharetta, but must first receive the blessing of the GDOE to put the school on the 44-acre parcel. The state sent back FSA's first application last month, requesting additional information and clarification...

Last month, FSA was denied a renewal of their charter by the Fulton County School System and is now seeking to become a state charter school beginning next school year.

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“School Board Reject State's Mediation Offer with Fulton Science Academy; Charter school's executive director responds to accusations about the school's construction process.” Roswell Patch, 1/19/2012

...Superintendent Robert Avossa told the state Department of Education that Fulton County Schools has no interest in a mediation request by Fulton Science Academy after direct negotiations that lasted four months failed...

Two vital items communicated by Fulton County Schools to the charter school were not included in the charter renewal petition submitted to the Board of Education, he said: A listing of specific waivers for school personnel, and a three-year term aligning the middle school's charter with its partner schools–Fulton Sunshine Academy and Fulton Science Academy High School–which are bound financially through an $18 million bond.

Other issues have been revealed since the local board voted against the charter renewal, Avossa said in his letter. Not only did the school issue the $18 million bond before receiving a charter renewal, it also spent a large portion of the money and broke ground on its new facilities without state permission...

Avossa said these problems are even more evidence of problems.

"This pattern of reckless, premature actions taken by the FSAMS management constitutes additional breaches of their charter contract and has also now endangered the financial health of its FSA sister schools due to their joint and several indebtedness on the bond," Avossa said in his letter.

He also said this isn't the first example of irresponsible management and disregard for the district policies by the school...

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"School board denies Fulton Science Academy MS renewal petition.” Fulton County Schools press release, 12/20/2011

At its December 20 meeting, the Fulton County Board of Education denied the Fulton Science Academy Middle School’s petition to renew in a unanimous vote. The board based its decision on the FSA governance board’s inability to meet the school system’s requirement for a three-year charter term and a blanket waiver...

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“Fitch Downgrades Fulton Science Academy, GA's Revs to 'BB-'; Rating Watch Negative.” iStockAnalyst, 12/20/2011 

...CHARTER RENWAL TENSION NOT REFLECTIVE OF INVESTMENT GRADE:

The downgrade to 'BB-' reflects Fitch's heightened concerns regarding Fulton Science Academy Middle School's (FSAMS) ability to effectively manage the charter renewal process; a fundamental credit characteristic of investment grade ratings in this sector. Last week, Fulton County School District's (FCSD, the local charter authorizer) superintendent recommended that the FCSD board deny FSAMS' current petition to renew its charter, expiring June 30, 2012. Fitch views recent events as a significant, rapid and unexpected deterioration in the authorizer relationship. This level of uncertainty over the charter renewal is more reflective of a 'BB-' rating.

CHARTER RENEWAL AT RISK:

The Rating Watch Negative reflects Fitch's concern that the FSAMS charter may not be renewed. The FCSD board is scheduled to vote on the renewal petition this evening (December 20). Based on discussions with FCSD and FSAMS staff, Fitch believes rejection of the petition is a real possibility. In that event, FSAMS' charter would be scheduled to expire on June 30, 2012...

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“Fulton County Schools, Charter Interim Compliance Report, Fulton Science Academy Middle School.” January 2011 (emphasis added) http://fsamiddle.org/images/stories/interimcompliance.pdf

Requested Actions (pp. 2-3)

While the school continues a strong academic record, it remains challenged in the areas of governance transparency and participation…

…We understand that the school is now using the services of the Grace Institute. We request that the relationship with the Grace Institute cease effective March 4, 2011, and that the original terms of the contract approved by the FCBOE be honored…

     1. According to its website, the Grace Institute does not claim to be an EMO. However, the scope of the services provided by the Grace Institute according to the contract supplied do indeed fall into the commonly accepted definition of an EMO and under the areas of governance as defined by the GADOE (personnel, finances, curriculum and instruction, resource allocation, establishing and monitoring school improvement goals, and school operations).

The renewal contract did not specify the use of an educational management organization in general nor Grace Institute in specific. As such, the relationship is not approved b either the school system or the state.

     2. According to the Federal 990EZ Form, the Grace Institute’s board of directors includes the FSAMS Executive Director (who also serves Fulton Sunshine Academy and Fulton Science Academy High School) and the principals of the FSAHS and FSA MS, among others. This represents a business practice that is not in compliance FCBOE policy prohibiting conflict of interest.

     3. There in no indication that a Request for Proposal (RFP) process was followed by the governing board in the hiring of the Grace Institute.

     4. The operations of the school reflect attendance at one conference conducted by Grace, but no transparency regarding the scope of the services provided is evident in any documentation provided by the school to date. Neither is any review period to assess the quality of the services indicated in the contract.

     5. Finally, although the contract supplied reflects that there is a fee associated with Grace services, there is no detail as to the amount of tax payer dollars gong to the Grace Institute on an annual basis nor the formula for establishing such funding levels. Neither is there an articulation of the actual per pupil fee amounts to be paid by the school nor the schedule of payments in the contract. No payments are mentioned in the Annual Audit by the independent auditor, Mr. Sam Durden, CPA. Since the Grace institute serves schools outside of Fulton County and the state of Georgia, the lack of transparency in the supplied contract makes it impossible to determine if state and local tax dollars are funding activities to benefit schools outside of Fulton County and the state of Georgia…

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The proposal for the Fulton Science Academy Middle School was submitted in March 2001 by Cosmos Science Academy, Inc. See http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/_documents/schools/charterschools/Fulton%20Science%20Academy.pdf

The founding board:

• Bekir Ozcan, Staff Engineer at Georgia Power Company
• Yucel Altunbasak, Georgia Institute of Technology, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Serdar Tunaboylu, Electric Motor Drive Specialist at Siemens
• Erdogan Dogdu, software engineer
• Kemal Cem Gur, teacher in Turkey, moved to Georgia in 1999

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Fulton Science Academy (“Fulton Science Academy Middle School Inc.” (EIN 582512910)

Names appearing on 2004-2008 Form 990s: Ali Ozer, Ayhan Korucu, Baybars Bakay, Cevdet Akbay, Cheri Garvin, Feroz Fatehali, Fethi Gotepe, Kenan Sener, Levent Bulut, Mustafa Basgun, Mustafa Kecici, Sabrina Moore, Selim Ozedmir, Sherry Saylam [possibly related to Mustafa Z. Saylam and/or Saltuk B. Saylam], Steven Greene, Tuncay Kucuktas, and Wendi Murphy.

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From http://graceschools.us/ (accessed Oct 2010): 

“In short, Grace Member Schools are also called “Grace Schools“. However, this abbreviation is a bit misleading as the Grace Institute is not a Charter Management Organization (CMO). This usage more correctly should be read as Grace Schools Network or Grace Member Schools.”

Current members include:

• Fulton Science Academy-Middle (GA)
• Fulton Science Academy-High (GA)
• Stars Middle School (FL)
• River City Science Academy Middle and High School (FL)
• Orlando Science Middle and High School (FL)
• Sweetwater Branch Academy Middle and High School (FL)
• New Springs Middle School (FL)
• Fulton Sunshine Academy Elementary School (GA)
• River City Science Academy Elementary School (FL)
• Sweetwater Branch Academy Elementary School (FL)

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Grace Institute for Educational Research & Resources, Inc. (EIN 262674420)

• Names appearing on 990s for 2007-2009 Form 990s: Yucel Aktas, Ilbey Budak, Avni Cokavci, Selim Ozdemir, Ali Ozer, Namik Sercan, Kenar Sener. Each of these individuals has held positions at Fulton Science Academy schools

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Additional reading:

• Fulton Science Academy / TEACH / Fulton Sunshine Academy: Evidence of affiliation with Gulen Movement http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/fulton-science-academy.html
• Florida Schools: Orlando Science Middle/High Charter School, River City Science Academy, Sweetwater Branch Academy, Stars Middle School, New Springs Middle School. Evidence of affiliation with Gulen Movement http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/florida-schools-orlando-river-city-sweetwater-stars-new-springs.html

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Students from the Fulton Science Academy at the 2011 Turkish Olympiad Southeast sponsored by the Istanbul Center, a Gulenist organization ("That center is devoted to the practice and propagation of the teachings of Muslim leader Fethullah Gulen." See @ fgulen.com). These pageants are held in multiple regions in the U.S. and around the world. The student performers have been trained in Gulenist schools.

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Read More

Eagles Peak Charter School (4000 students)

FORMER SCHOOL DIRECTOR GETS $1M.  North County Times (San Diego County, CA) 20 Aug 2010 

A jury awarded the former executive director of the now-defunct Eagles Peak Charter School $1 million this week in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed after the administrator was fired in 2008, an attorney said Friday.

In the lawsuit, the former executive, Rich Alderson, accused the school’s board of directors of firing him after less than a year on the job for refusing to retaliate against employees who had criticized them.

The jury determined that the school acted with fraud, malice or oppression, according to Bob Ottilie, Alderson’s attorney…

In his lawsuit, Alderson claimed that trustees had asked him to do something to keep the employees from speaking up, which he refused to do…

A few months earlier, disagreements between the board and former Executive Director Kathleen Hermsmeyer caused the school to split in two. Hermsmeyer and most of the other administrators moving to the newly formed River Springs Charter School based in Riverside County.

Before the division, the school was the largest in the region, with nearly 4,000 students. It catered to parents who primarily taught their children at home and had learning centers throughout San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties.

The school closed last year after the school board at the Julian district decided not to renew its charter. At the time, the district’s superintendent said the move was spurred in large part by Alderson’s firing.

In September, Mountain Peak Charter School opened with many of the same programs, employees, students and the same board president as Eagles Peak.

The new school is sponsored by the Mountain Empire Unified School District and serves more than 500 students in San Diego, Riverside, Orange and Imperial counties with learning centers in Vista, Chula Vista and San Jacinto…

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REPORT DOCUMENTS PAST PROBLEMS AT CHARTER SCHOOL. North County Times (San Diego County, CA) 07 Dec 2007

VISTA -- A county report released this week says poor judgment and lax oversight led to several problems at North County's largest charter school, where allegations of money mismanagement, nepotism and conflicts of interest erupted into an ugly power struggle last year.

The controversy at Vista-based Eagles Peak Charter School has since subsided; the massive academy split into two separate schools in early 2007. No criminal charges were filed against anyone at either school.

The county report says problems from the past could continue to haunt Eagles Peak, including the possibility that the school will have to return roughly $7.3 million in state funding. The school that branched off, River Springs Charter School, is not included in the audit and would not have to share that burden.

The report was released Tuesday by the San Diego Office of Education, which hired an auditing firm to look into 12 allegations against former administrators at the school that had been lodged by its board of directors. The report specifically studies what it describes as the actions of six top administrators who have since left Eagles Peak…

The report doesn't place all of the blame on former administrators. The school's board of directors contributed to the problems by not keeping an eye on expenses, the audit states. Before last year, the school board "provided minimal monitoring, at best," according to the report.

The report specifically examines several decisions and transactions by former Eagles Peak Executive Director Kathleen Hermsmeyer and her management team, including $18,284 worth of food purchases, $32,458 in balance transfers onto school credit cards and the lease of a beach-front condominium for visiting administrators…

Because school officials never asked for documentation of those credit card expenses, the auditors say it's impossible to determine exactly where that money went. When Hermsmeyer parted ways with the school earlier this year, the Eagles Peak board signed an agreement saying it would not seek to recoup any money…

Eagles Peak runs sites in San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties; River Springs operates schools throughout Riverside County.

Each organization has more than 2,000 students and caters to parents who home-school or want more involvement in their children's education than traditional schools often offer…

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CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD FIRES DIRECTOR, GRAPPLES WITH DEFICIT. North County Times (San Diego County, CA) 01 Feb 2007

TEMECULA -- As the largest charter school serving Southwest Riverside and North San Diego counties continues its split into two autonomous entities, the board overseeing half its operations fired the school's longtime executive director after a five-hour meeting Tuesday night.

Citing several contentions, including misappropriation of money and conflicts of interest, the board overseeing the Vista-based coastal operation of Eagles Peak Charter School terminated the employment of Kathleen Hermsmeyer, who has been on administrative leave from the coastal division since November.

Hermsmeyer remains director of Eagles Peak Charter School Inland Empire. She did not return phone calls Wednesday.

The decision to fire her came as coastal board members said they are grappling with a projected deficit of $2.4 million for this fiscal year, which ends June 30. The board members said they largely blamed Hermsmeyer for much of the debt, contending the school has been mismanaged…

The votes came after three teachers resigned, citing concern over the school's direction and what they contended was the board's misguided agenda. Several parents also pleaded with the board that certain academic programs run at the Temecula campus should be spared. Several parents shed tears over the school's Montessori program, saying their children needed it.

About half of Eagles Peak's students are home-schooled, and the others are enrolled in various academic programs the school offers, ones that often include a mix of home-schooling and time spent at one of the campuses, dubbed learning centers, under the direction of teachers…

Each organization has a separate charter and roughly 2,000 students. The coastal school is chartered through the Julian Union High School District and the inland school is chartered by the Riverside County Office of Education. They are public schools and do not charge tuition…

Other reasons cited for Hermsmeyer's firing included her alleged decisions to:

- Allow a top administrator to earn $64,500 on loans the school took out without board approval.

- Lease a $43,000 sport utility vehicle, albeit partly for school use, an action the board called needlessly excessive.

- Lease a beachfront condominium in Oceanside for two top administrators to supposedly attract quality employees, an action the board called "tantamount to a gift of public funds."

- Give a "substantial pay raise" to employees last year without board approval and despite the school's negative operating balance at the time of $655,000, raises the coastal board contends benefited Hermsmeyer as well as her husband and sister, who were also employees.

- Work as a teacher while also working as executive director, and collecting two salaries, "constituting a self-dealing transaction and a violation of the Political Reform Act."…

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DISPLACED PUPILS TO ATTEND GREEN OAK FOR TWO WEEKS. San Diego Union-Tribune (CA) 25 Sep 2004 

VISTA – Nearly 230 kids shut out of their charter school when city officials closed it Thursday will go to class at Green Oak Ranch for two weeks while school officials figure out what to do.

Citing unsafe conditions such as narrow hallways that could impede fire evacuation, Vista Fire Marshal Phil Paige served operators of Eagles Peak Charter School, 450 W. California Ave., with eviction papers Thursday…

"It's likely we won't be able to do what the city needs us to do in two weeks. We'll need to find a more long-term facility or facilities for these kids," she said.

Assistant City Manager Rick Dudley said the city received a complaint Tuesday saying the school was unsafe. He said school officials put their pupils in the building without consulting the city on building codes.

"Schools have different standards for construction and access than say a commercial business," Dudley said. "You can't just throw school kids in an old commercial building and call it good."…

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Academica Schools / Florida politician (ethics complaint)

ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST STATE REP. FRESEN; / An ethics complaintwas filed against a Miami lawmaker over his connection to a charter schoolscompany; April 29, 2011; Miami Herald (FL) 

A Tallahassee mother of three said she filed an ethics complaint this week against state Rep. Erik Fresen over his family’s ties to a charter school company.

Fresen, a Miami Republican, voted in a Florida House committee last week for a broad charter schools reform bill. His sister and brother-in-law work for Academica, which runs numerous charter schools in Florida…

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QUESTIONS RAISED OVER LAWMAKER’S PUSH FOR CHARTER SCHOOL BILL; A provision tucked into a Florida House charter schools bill has prompted South Miami officials to cry foul on a state lawmaker; April 27, 2011, Miami Herald (FL)

State Rep. Erik Fresen, who sits on several education committees in the Florida House, is again raising eyebrows for his family ties to a prominent Miami-Dade charter school company.

Fresen’s sister and brother-in-law run Academica, a for-profit company that manages dozens of charter schools.

Last week, Fresen slipped language into a bill that would prohibit cities from imposing stricter zoning and building restrictions on charter schools than on traditional public schools. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run.

The provision is aimed in part at South Miami, which recently approved charter school regulations that could directly affect Academica. The company, city Mayor Philip Stoddard said, may be looking to expand Somerset Academy at SoMi, where Fresen’s twin sons go to school. And Academica has expressed interest in building a school in Palmetto Bay.

Fresen scoffed at the idea that he put forth the provision to benefit his family. His brother-in-law, Fernando Zulueta, runs Academica with Fresen’s sister, Maggie. And Fresen is a land-use consultant for Civica, an architectural firm that has designed several Academica schools…

But while school districts must meet certain criteria to expand or build a new, traditional public school — such as hold public hearings — charter schools are often exempt. The new provision would prevent cities and counties from setting some of those rules at the municipal level, said Tucker Gibbs, a Miami land-use attorney who is fighting a proposed Academica school in Coral Gables…

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Philadelphia School Reform Commission

NUTTER ORDERS AN INVESTIGATION OF THE KING CHARTER SCHOOL FLAP; April 26, 2011; Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)

Mayor Nutter has launched a city investigation into the withdrawal of an Atlanta charter school company from operating Martin Luther King High School, amid allegations of conflict of interest and political wrangling involving School Reform Commission Chairman Robert L. Archie Jr. and State Rep. Dwight Evans.

Nutter said Monday that he had directed Joan Markman, the city's chief integrity officer, to conduct a series of fact-finding interviews and report the results to him as soon as possible.

The development follows a week of disclosures about a closed-door meeting involving Archie, Evans, and one charter operator who later backed out of King, and the subsequent departure of a second charter operator. It also follows requests by some King parents for a state investigation…

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MLK HIGH CHARTER PLAN FALLING APART; April 21, 2011; Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)

The New Jersey-based nonprofit that has overseen Martin Luther King High School for the last seven years has withdrawn its bid to run the school as a charter, amid a controversy involving School Reform Commission Chairman Robert L. Archie Jr. and State Rep. Dwight Evans.

Citing a climate of "unrelenting hostility," Foundations Inc. Chief Executive Officer Rhonda H. Lauer in a letter to Archie and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman sent Wednesday night said her organization no longer was interested in participating in the district's "Renaissance" school reform plan…

The decision follows a report by the Philadelphia Public School Notebook this week that Archie met in a closed-door session with Evans and John Q. Porter, of Mosaica Turnaround Partners to discuss the fate of the school even though he had recused himself from voting on the charter earlier that day because of a potential conflict of interest. The law firm at which he is a partner, Duane Morris LLP, has represented Foundations, the Notebook reported.

The charter, which would be for five years, is estimated to be worth approximately $12 million dollars a year, according to the Notebook.

The School Reform Commission in March had voted to give Mosaica, an Atlanta-based for-profit charter school company, the right to negotiate the charter for King.

But Mosaica later withdrew its application after Evans publicly expressed his disappointment to the Commission and continued to support Foundations, with which he has had a long-standing relationship. Some parent leaders at the school, who supported Mosaica, however, have complained…

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SRC CHAIR FACES CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST QUESTIONS; April 19, 2011; Philadelphia Notebook (PA) 

Just over a month ago, the chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission took part in a pivotal closed-door meeting to discuss the fate of a charter school deal potentially worth $60 million, only hours after publicly recusing himself from voting on the matter due to a conflict of interest…

The meeting was held on the evening of March 16 at School District of Philadelphia headquarters, and included Archie, State Rep. Dwight Evans, and John Q. Porter of Mosaica Education, an Atlanta-based, for-profit school operator. [Read summary about Porter on The Broad Report]

Earlier that day, Archie’s fellow commissioners had voted 3-0 to award Mosaica the right to negotiate the charter to run Martin Luther King High in Germantown. Archie didn’t vote, citing his law firm’s ties to another applicant for the charter. Porter described himself that afternoon as “ecstatic” about the vote.

But the day after the three men met, Mosaica walked away from the King deal.

Porter explained the reversal at the time by saying that he did not want to interfere with Evans’ plans for his community. He also said that his company “did not believe that without full support we could be successful.”

Mosaica’s abrupt about-face left Foundations Inc., a New Jersey-based nonprofit with ties to both Archie and Evans, as the only bidder for the King charter. King is being transformed as part of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s signature Renaissance Schools initiative. …

Zack Stalberg, chair of the Committee of Seventy, a watchdog group, called Archie’s action “highly improper."

The chair of a volunteer panel at King advising the District on the school’s turnaround plan said the group wants a full investigation into Archie’s behavior.

Archie has publicly acknowledged that the law firm where he is a partner, Duane Morris LLP, represents Foundations. (Archie has also recused himself from decisions involving Universal Companies, a charter provider slated to run Audenried High and Vare Middle School, for similar reasons.)

Evans also has deep connections to Foundations, which has for decades been his preferred partner for education projects of all kinds in and around his West Oak Lane district. For the past eight years, Foundations has been managing King under contract with the District.

In addition, Archie and Evans have a longstanding personal relationship. Evans has referred to Archie in press reports as a friend for more than two decades, and Archie has been a frequent donor to Evans’ political campaigns, as have many Foundations executives.

King’s charter, initially for five years, is estimated to be worth approximately $12 million dollars a year to its manager. The charter could potentially extend indefinitely…

Stalberg says he believes Archie's presence at the meeting will likely trigger the interest of state and federal investigators…

Stalberg believes Archie’s presence in the March 16 meeting will trigger not only questions about the King charter, but about the politically appointed board that oversees the $3.2 billion dollar district and its nearly 200,000 public and charter school students. “I think there’s a good chance that this will fire up the question of who is the SRC, and why is the state running our schools anyway?” Stalberg said. “The incident and the larger question may be totally different things.”

Stalberg, who edited the Philadelphia Daily News for three decades, said the story of Archie and Evans’ closed-door meeting is unlike anything he’s heard in recent years…

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