Atlanta Preparatory Academy

“Atlanta school board considers own police force.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA), 1/14/2013

“... The board on Monday also decided the fate of Atlanta Preparatory Academy, voting 8-1 (Byron Amos dissenting) to follow Davis’ recommendation not to renew the charter of the school. APS executive director of innovation Allen Mueller told the board the school has underperformed academically and has financial problems.

According to Mueller, the K-8 school with about 450 students ranks in the bottom 20 percent of schools statewide in academic performance; its enrollment is 45 percent lower than originally projected; and it owes $801,384 to for-profit education management company Mosaica Education, Inc.

Atlanta Prep board members and Mosaica co-founder and president Gene Eidelman said afterward the school will take its case to the state charter commission, which was approved by voters last November in part to consider charter proposals rejected by local school boards...”

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“Atlanta school facing loss of charter.” Atlanta-Journal Constitution (GA), 1/2/2013

The Atlanta school board will hear arguments in January whether to renew the charter of Atlanta Preparatory Academy or follow a staff recommendation to terminate it in June...

The dispute over renewal illustrates the dynamics and nuances of charter school relationships with local school boards, especially charters run by for-profit management companies that collect taxpayer funds from the district and extract hundreds of thousands of dollars in management fees.

Allen Mueller, APS’s executive director of innovation, told the board Dec. 3 the case against Atlanta Prep’s renewal is clear-cut and the school’s failings manifold. Atlanta Prep ranks in the bottom 20 percent of schools statewide in academic performance; its enrollment is 45 percent lower than originally projected; and it owes $801,384 to for-profit education management company, Mosaica Education, Inc., he said.

Mosaica has agreed to restructure the loan to eliminate a $568,000 balloon payment due in June, said Mueller. But the financial arrangement is still “untenable” because it’s a potential threat to the autonomy of the board, he said. The state of Georgia recommends charter boards have the independence to overrule their management companies...

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“Charter Founder Profits; Students Struggle.” East Atlanta Patch (GA), 12/11/2012

...In December 2006, Mosaica’s President Gene Eidelman filed a charter petition to open the Atlanta Preparatory Academy (APA).  The charter application indicates that non-profit APA intended to contract with for-profit Mosaica to provide all services.

Unlike Grant Park’s community-based Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School, APA was not founded by a group of local parents seeking better options for their kids. Instead, Gene Eidelman was joined by a team of three outsiders, none of whom live in the community where APA planned to operate its school and none of whom send children to the school...

The application acknowledged a conflict of interest as APA’s President was also the founder, owner, and President of Mosaica.

Undeterred by this conflict, the APS Board of Education approved the application...

Since the Board of Education approved the school’s charter five years ago, APA has been a revolving door for board members who join then leave the organization... None of the individuals who have served as CFO appear to have earned a degree in finance or accounting...

This instability and lack of financial experience stands in stark contrast to the consistent financial leadership seen at Atlanta’s successful charters...

Much like Mosaica’s other schools, APA’s students rank among the bottom of the pack on Georgia exams...

Importantly, the school’s highest performing students are 7th graders who received their K-4 educations elsewhere, prior to APA opening...

In addition to the charter’s dismal academic achievement, a review of APA’s financial statements raises questions about whether the school has been a good steward of public resources...

The Management Agreement between APA and Mosaica calls for a fee of 12.5% of per-pupil revenue received by the school, which in 2012 amounted to $577,716. It goes on to say that this fee “will not preclude the payment of additional consideration,” paving the way for Mosaica to charge more for any services not covered under the Management Agreement...

Only 36.2% of APA’s revenue for the year ended June 30, 2012 actually went toward instruction. This was the lowest percentage of expenses allocated to instruction among all of Atlanta’s charter schools...

To date, APA has spent close to one million dollars of public money on a site which in no way contributed to education...

[READ THE WHOLE PIECE]

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DaVinci Charter School

“DaVinci Charter School in Garden City to close Friday, impacting 130 students, 18 staff.” Idaho Statesman (ID), 2/19/2013

Due to a budget shortfall, a charter school that has been operating in Garden City since the fall of 2006 will close its doors on Friday, school officials said.

The DaVinci Charter School opened in 2006 as the Garden City Community School — the name was changed because some thought it was a community college, said Director Cindy Hoovel...

Hoovel said the school began in modulars, then moved into a church. It later moved to a strip mall on Chinden Boulevard, but the lease wasn't renewed after a firearms store and brewery moved in nearby. It finally moved to portable trailers on Glenwood Street, across from Hawks Memorial Stadium. The plan was to build a permanent school at that site.

Several things led to the decision to shutter the facility, including unanticipated costs associated with moving to the site, utility installation costs, higher-than-average special needs services costs, and enrollment under 200 students.

... The board paid off remaining bills — it does not have any remaining debt — and opted to close rather than incur operating costs that could not be immediately paid...

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Lee Alternative Charter High School

“Lee Alternative Charter shuts down in Lehigh.” Lehigh Acres Citizen (FL), 1/9/2013

Most of the 149 students at the Lee Alternative Charter School, off of Taylor Lane in Lehigh Acres, are in classes in other schools in Fort Myers this week.

The students and their parents were forced to find other schools because the Lehigh school, which was owned by Richard Milburn Academy Schools of Southwest Florida, was forced to close due to financial problems.

It is the third charter school that is a part of the Milburn Academy of Schools that has been forced to close its doors over the past six months.

The school was located in what had been a multi-screened movie theater and later a church. The building was built about a dozen years ago...

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Mosaica Education

“Charter Founder Profits; Students Struggle.” East Atlanta Patch (GA), 12/11/2012

From its headquarters one block south of Wall Street, Mosaica Education claims to operate with a simple mission: “To empower students to learn and achieve – every child, every day.”

This for-profit charter management company was founded in 1997 by Sandy Springs resident Gene Eidelman and has since expanded to a network of 90 schools, generating more than $125M in annual revenue.  For several years, Inc. Magazine has ranked Mosaica as one of the fastest growing companies in urban America.[i] 

Unfortunately, students attending schools managed by Mosaica have not seen their educational trajectories rise with the management company’s revenue.  Instead, Mosaica’s students around the country consistently underperform their peers...

During Mosaica’s short tenure on the national stage, it has found itself immersed in a series of scandals across the country.

The Lafayette Academy Charter School opened in the fall of 2006, paying Mosaica $773,000 for the first year of a five-year management contract. Less than 10 days into the school year, the charter’s governing board started “noticing problems.” In a lawsuit filed against Mosaica, the governing board alleged that the management company failed to align its curriculum to Louisiana standards, failed to establish an after-school program for struggling students, and failed to properly organize transportation to and from the school.  On September 14, 2007, an arbitrator awarded the governing board a $350,000 judgment against Mosaica and upheld the school’s termination of its management agreement.

Two years later, Mosaica’s Howard Road Academy in D.C. was embroiled in a cheating scandal when a student announced to her exam proctor that she knew all the answers to the DC-CAS standardized test because she had been given the test to practice the day before.  The Washington Post later reported that Mosaica administrators distributed tests prior to exam day for “extra practice

In April 2012, Mosaica’s STEAM Academy of Winston-Salem, North Carolina faced revocation of its charter for financial problems and low academic performance. Just before annual exams were to be administered, The Winston-Salem Journal reported that Mosaica hired Susan Willis to run the school.  Prior to landing this job, Ms. Willis was fired by her previous employer when an investigation found that she conspired to boost test scores as the principal of William Flemming High School in Roanoke, Virginia.  Mosaica claimed to be “aware of a testing irregularity,” when hiring Ms. Willis, but “didn’t think it was anything significant.”...

Just last week, the Detroit News reported that Mosaica’s newest school in Muskegon Heights, Michigan has struggled to maintain a stable staff during its first year of operations. The principal quit before classes started, and just three months into the school year, 25% of the teachers have also left the school. ...

A comprehensive analysis conducted by Arizona State University lists the first 36 schools founded by Mosaica since it began operating in 1997.  Twenty seven of those schools have since been shut down by local authorizers or have extricated themselves from Mosaica’s management.

Of the nine which survived, eight can be classified as categorical failures...

The only possible beacon of success among Mosaica’s first 36 education attempts is the Columbus Preparatory Academy. Founded in 2004, until recently, the school has struggled...saw its performance undergo a meteoric rise to the 81st percentile on the state’s 2011 tests.

Even if this single-year increase is an accurate reflection of lasting student growth at Columbus Prepartory Academy, Mosaica has demonstrated no capacity to duplicate the success elsewhere. Instead, the organization seems willing to accept a certain level of school closures, focusing instead on a strategy of opening new schools. During the time the network watched 27 of its first 36 schools close, it was able to open more than 75 new schools. As long as Mosaica opens more schools than it sees closed each year, its revenue can continue to grow...

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Quality Education Academy

“'A factory of excellence'? Charter school’s international basketball team raises oversight questions.” NC Policy Watch, 1/28/2013

A Winston-Salem charter school has become an unlikely basketball powerhouse in recent years, winning three national high school championships and sending more than a dozen former players on to Division 1 colleges.

But the success of Quality Education Academy‘s boys basketball team rests on a strategy prohibited at most public schools—recruiting top players throughout the nation and world.

It also offers a window into the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s struggles to hold charter schools accountable as the schools become a larger piece of the state’s public education system.

An N.C. Policy Watch investigation found two-thirds of the players on Quality Education Academy’s basketball rosters from 2008 to present came from other states and nations to attend the K-12 school. Their educations were subsidized by taxpayers who sent $13.2 million in state, federal and local funding to the school for the same time period, according to state education estimates and budgets provided by the school.

The investigation also found that the N.C. Department of Public Instruction failed to follow up on its own 2011 probe into funding and enrollment issues at the charter school.

Questions about Quality Education Academy’s basketball program highlight criticisms and challenges DPI faces in overseeing charter schools, the privately-run and publicly-funded schools poised to grow rapidly with strong backing from the Republican-led state legislature and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.

The basketball program at Quality Education Academy (QEA) is a set-up impossible to recreate at most North Carolina public schools.

North Carolina specifically prohibits recruitment of students for athletics across school district lines, much less state and national boundaries.

But QEA’s status as a charter school means it can opt out of joining the N.C. High School Athletic Association, which enforces the N.C. recruitment rule for public schools. Instead, QEA and a handful of private high schools with strong basketball programs formed their own athletic association in 2011, the Greater Carolina High School Athletic Association. The new league allows coaches to recruit players from elsewhere, just not from the six schools that form the association, according to the association’s rules.

Even though the small charter school has fewer than 100 high school students, QEA has attracted basketball players from countries like Nigeria, Serbia, Canada and the Bahamas and states including California, Michigan, Georgia and Virginia since the basketball program began in 2008. Parents signed over temporary guardianship to Isaac Pitts Jr., a basketball coach with a criminal past and a side recruiting business, according to documents obtained from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction through a public records request...

The state education agency began looking at QEA closely in January of 2010, after three Serbian students sent June Atkinson, the state superintendent of schools, an emailbegging for help. The students, who left their Balkan nation to attend the Winston-Salem school, were instructed to pay Pitts, the coach, $4,000 each to attend the school, according to a copy of the email obtained by N.C. Policy Watch. Johnson, the school’s CEO, responded that the students came as part of a “cultural diversity and exchange” program and had agreed to the fee associated with a separate recruiting operation Pitts was involved in...

BE SURE TO READ THE REST!

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Las Montañas Charter School

“Audit shows Las Montañas Charter's repeat accounting problems.” Las Cruces Sun-News (NM), 2/8/2013

LAS CRUCES — Las Montañas Charter School again has accounting difficulties and faces revocation of its charter, a year after budget problems threatened to shut down the school.

Las Montañas overstated its capital asset balance — the value of its land, buildings, equipment and other assets — on is fiscal year 2011 report, according to final audit findings presented to the Las Cruces school board Tuesday...

"These audit findings are problematic," Superintendent Stan Rounds said.

Las Montañas was "not keeping good track of the assets they had purchased" and listed items as assets that it didn't buy, Las Cruces Public Schools Assistant Superintendent of Finance Terry Dean said...

To fix the overstatement, the school's listed net assets and capital assets were each decreased by $100,701.

The decrease does not alter the school's budget, merely corrects the value of the assets it owns.

Las Montañas also couldn't account for $83,207 in cash, according to the audit report...

This audit is not the first time financial issues at Las Montañas have come up.

The school has repeat problems with its internal control structure, cash control and bookkeeping, among others, according to the report...

Las Montañas has seen low enrollment and graduation rates...

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Houston Gateway Academy

“Charter school's entry fee is illegal.” Houston Chronicle (TX), 4/10/2013

Houston Gateway Academy, a public charter school that serves mostly low-income families, was charging parents fees to enroll their children in violation of state law, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Applicants to the school received a letter saying the fee - $100 for one child or $200 per family - was required for students to land a reserved spot next fall...

Charter schools and traditional school districts are allowed to charge for materials, student clubs, identification cards and a few other areas under state law, but the fees cannot be tied to admission, said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe.

Gateway Superintendent Richard Garza could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His charter network enrolls about 1,500 students, and 93 percent are considered economically disadvantaged, according to TEA data. The fee was to be charged to new students and to those who were re-enrolling...

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Fulton Science Academy High School*

“School board: Fulton Science Academy appeal must wait till May, June.” NorthFulton.Com (GA), 4/14/2013

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – With May 23 the final day of school in Fulton County, it appears probable a decision on the future of the Fulton Science Academy High School will come just days before that date, putting in flux the academic plans for hundreds of high school students.

Last year, the Fulton School Board voted to terminate the charter with FSA HS on June 30, ending its relationship with the charter school after an eight-year partnership. Because there were two years remaining in the charter agreement, the action must be approved by the Georgia Board of Education (GBOE), following a recommendation from the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE), which is handling the appeal.

FSA HS appealed Fulton's decision to the state in January, but officials with the GDOE noted the process was not complete in time for the GBOE's April 4-5 meeting. The date of the May meeting has not yet been set and state officials are not promising completion of the process even then...

However, minutes of the board meeting show about a 7 percent decline in enrollment following the Fulton School Board's action in December, and an open house for prospective students in the spring was canceled because of the uncertainty of the appeal. FSA HS had an enrollment of 250 students at the start of the school year.

Last year, its sister school, Fulton Science Academy Middle School, lost its public school charter and converted to a private school. Morgan did not comment on whether plans have been made to follow the same route for the high school.

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“Financial, operational deficiencies cited in Fulton Science Academy closure.”NorthFulton.com (GA), 12/11/2012

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The looming closure of the Fulton Science Academy High School has seen none of the drama created last year with the closing of its sister school, the FSA Middle School, as a public charter school.

Noticeably absent are the local politicians and community leaders who came out in force to try and stop the Fulton County School System from revoking last year the charter from the high performing middle school. One year later, few voices have come forward in support of keeping its sister high school open as a charter school.

Last week, the seven-member Fulton County Board of Education voted unanimously to begin termination proceedings against the charter high school at the end of June 2013. If successful, the high school will either close its doors completely in June, or convert to a private high school —the route taken by the FSA Middle School...

The recommendation to close the high school came after an extensive audit over the summer that examined the financial and operational processes of the school. The audit concluded significant deficiencies were apparent, and serious enough to warrant a closing of the school...

In recommending the closing of the FSA HS, Avossa pointed to a number of issues at the school, centered on governance board activities, low enrollment and its practice of charging students hundreds of dollars to take core classes, which should be offered at no cost.

Avossa noted FSA High School has never connected with the community or lived up to its goal of being the feeder school for the FSA Middle School. Its current enrollment of just over 250 students is well below the projected enrollment of 450...

"We've had numerous issues with the school since 2007 and have given them many opportunities to try and improve their operations," said Avossa. "The governance board has had a long history of ineffective leadership and poor decision-making, which has led to many of the current issues."

He pointed to the default on a $19 million bond, which was taken out last year to finance the construction of a campus to eventually house the FSA elementary school (Fulton Sunshine Academy), FSA Middle and FSA High. After Fulton County revoked the charter for the middle school, plans for construction stopped and the loan went into default in June. How the remaining $10 million will be paid back is still in legal limbo...

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* Gulen charter school

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Einstein Montessori School

“Another failed Orlando charter 'a disaster' for students, teachers.” Orlando Sentinel (FL), 3/4/2013

It was clear to teachers at the Einstein Montessori School in Orlando that something was very wrong when school opened for business last fall.

There were no computers for student use. And although the school focused on students with dyslexia, there were no reading texts.

Teachers said there was no set curriculum and no library.

"It was a disaster," said Brittany Clifton, a first-year math teacher who took on additional duties as principal for several months. She said students weren't getting what they needed. "It should have been shut down before the end of the semester."

The charter school closed in February, two months after Orange County Public Schools warned the privately run public school that it was violating state law and its own contract with the district. It had about 40 students in grades three to eight...

At Einstein, teachers said their training was haphazard, paychecks were late from the start and payments meant to compensate them for a lack of health insurance stopped after a single check. Three teachers who left in December and January were never paid several thousand dollars they were owed, they told Orange County Public Schools officials.

Things were also falling apart in the classroom.

The principal quit to save on salaries, and two of the five teachers were forced out, former teachers said. Further defections left a revolving door of substitute instructors, according to former teachers and the Einstein Montessori board chair, Rebecca Simmons...

When approved by the district in 2010, the school's application promised an accelerated, innovative curriculum for students with dyslexia. It delivered far less, teachers said.

"The students never had any grade-level materials," said Jill Nicholson, who taught the specialized reading program for dyslexic students, known as LiPS, on which the school was based.

"We were all first-year teachers and we didn't know what we were doing," she said. "It was more like a baby-sitting service."

Computers weren't set up until a few weeks before the school closed. A promised partnership with dyslexia experts at the University of Central Florida never materialized.

And parents weren't informed what was going on...

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Delaware Military Academy

“‘Extensive inappropriate activity’ found at Delaware Military Academy.” NewsWorks, WHYY News, 2/20/2013

A state audit discovered excessive personal reimbursements were given to the DMA's superintendent Jack Wintermantel.

The audit report follows an investigation by State Auditor Tom Wagner into allegations that the school leader received two reimbursements for the same purchase.  Wagner's report shows Wintermatnel received more than $26,000 in duplicate reimbursements.

The DMA is a publicly funded charter school with about 560 cadets in grades 9-12.

The audit also states that school staff were too intimidated to put a stop to the problem.  The audit report states, "They simply do what is requested without question because, as one individual stated, 'I want to keep my job.'"...

Wagner has forwarded his findings to the State Attorney General and is recommending that the Red Clay School District and the Department of Education review the school's charter.  He says the school's resistance to fixing problems alleged in the audit could put DMA at risk of losing its charter...

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Challenge Charter School

“Newton charter school owes $165K for insurance, rent.” Newton Citizen (GA), 3/27/2013

COVINGTON -- Challenge Charter Academy owes about $165,000 to local and state groups.

The Georgia Department of Community Health, which provides state health insurance benefits for employees, notified the school and Newton County Board of Education on Monday about the school's delinquency of $116,477.57. The department also notified the state Board of Education and the Georgia Charter School Commission about the matter, according to a letter sent to the school...

Additionally, the school owes $48,000 for eight months of rent to the Cousins Community Center, which is a nonprofit entity that was established to preserve the former Cousins campus, from which it rents its building on Geiger Street...

In October, school Principal Ernetta Dailey-Worthy told the Newton County school board that her staff would work to incorporate changes, and she hired a new chief financial officer for the school to develop a strategic plan and help better promote the school.The charter school is expected to close at the end of this school year, after officials with the school decided earlier this month to withdraw the school's petition that would have renewed the charter school for the next three years. In February, the Georgia Department of Education notified the school's foundation that the school's petition would be submitted to the state Board of Education with a recommendation for denial...

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“Newton charter school to close after this year.” Newton Citizen (GA), 3/9/2013

COVINGTON -- Challenge Charter Academy will close at the end of this school year.

#The Newton County School System announced Friday that the school will close, after officials with the school decided to withdraw the school's petition that would have renewed the charter school for the next three years.

Officials with the Georgia Department of Education notified the Challenge Foundation last month that the school's petition would be submitted to the state board of education with a recommendation for denial, according to NCSS.

On Friday, the GaDOE provided a recommendation letter it sent the school on Feb. 27. The letter lists some of the major reasons for its intent to suggest the denial:

-- The school was not able to articulate why it required a charter; there are no ascertainable uses of flexibility and the school appears to function as more of an educational program rather than a school.

-- The governing board is relatively new but knows very little about the operation of the school. The school also lacks a succession plan and board training program.

-- There is no clear separation between the governing board and a proposed school leader, although there is a requirement that the board be autonomous.

-- The school is not able to provide the level of services and programs required of a high school in order for the students to succeed.

-- Student performance does not meet expectation for charter schools and higher accountability, and there no discernible plan to increase student performance...

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Magnolia Science Academy charter schools

“Audit Report – Magnolia Science Academy-Charter Schools.” Los Angeles Unified School District, Office of the Inspector General, 8/20/2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report contains the results of our audit of Magnolia Science Academy –Charter Schools (“MSA Schools”). The MSA Schools referred to in this audit were the Magnolia Science Academy-1, Magnolia Science Academy-2 and Magnolia Science Academy-3. The MSA Schools are part of twelve Magnolia Public Schools (MPS) operated by the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation (MERF)...

Our audit found that the MSA Schools were not in full compliance with the selected provisions, standards and procedures outlined in their respective Charter Agreements. We also noted that the MSA Schools needed to strengthen their internal control systems and their oversight of fiscal and financial operations.
Some of the significant conditions we noted during the audit included:

• The governing board needed to review its existing governance structure to allow for the increased participation of parents, community members and other parties in the Charter Schools’ policy decision areas and other school advocacy.
• The MSA Schools did not maintain all employment documentation in the employee files as prescribed by the California Education Code and the Charter Agreement.
• The MSA Schools did not maintain all the enrollment documentation required by the written enrollment procedures and by the provisions of the Charter Agreement.
• Review of the financial statements and accounting records noted: non-disclosure of related party transactions; failure to maintain required fund reserves; failure to appropriately apply accrual basis of accounting; lack of monitoring of cash receipts and deposits process; lack of documentation for disbursements; lack of control over journal entries, and lack of adequate training for the accounting staff.
• The processes and controls over the bank reconciliation were inadequate. We found one Charter School that dated all reconciliations three days prior to this audit. We also noted that some deposits in transit remained outstanding in bank reconciliations from five months to almost a year.

Conclusion: Our audit noted control weaknesses in governance structure, employment documentation and qualifications of staff, admission/enrollment requirements and various financial control issues managed by the Magnolia Public Schools Central Office at the MSA School sites visited...

Potential Impact

The conditions described above, along with their underlying causes, may have increased the risk of fraud, waste and abuse of the MSA Charter Schools’ funds that could potentially result from the inability to detect irregularities, improper use of public funds or misappropriation of assets. Also, the questioned costs and questionable accounting practices identified in the course of the audit may have resulted in misstated and inaccurate financial statements of the MSA Charter Schools...

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NOTE: Although this internal audit report of these three Gulen charter schools was released in August 2012, the serious findings have not been presented to the public by the media, nor publicly discussed by the LAUSD school board as of 12/1/2012. It is also not known who ordered the audit, or why. If you live in LA, I urge you to pressure your local media to cover the story. More on the Magnolia chain HERE.

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Ignite Public Schools, formerly IRRA Charter Schools (six schools)

“Valley Charter School System on Probation.” KRGV 5 News (TX), 10/15/2012

MISSION - IRRA Charter Schools remain on probation with the Texas Education Agency, the schools superintendent said in a letter to parents.

The schools current status with TEA means they have not addressed major financial and education concerns. The school recently changed its name to Ignite.

The letter was not the first of its kind sent to parents. TEA first put the charter system on probation in 2009. That's when the state started investigating the schools.

The investigations concluded that the schools changed attendance records and got funding based on bad information.

TEA ordered IRRA to repay nearly $900,000. The schools fired the superintendent and brought in new leadership to fix the problems.

A CHANNEL 5 NEWS investigation revealed the problems were not fixed...

"Accredited probation is the next to worst level you can get on an accreditation status. After that, if you can't improve we have the authority to revoke the accreditation and at that point you'll cease to be a Texas public school," said Deetta Culbertson, with TEA...

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“Valley school administrator accused of sexually harassing student, employees.” KGBT-TV Channel 4 (TX), 8/22/2012

Claims of sexual harassment followed a South Texas school administrator, several female co-workers came forward at his current workplace, Ignite Public Schools (IPS) -- accusing him of unwanted attention and continued harassment.

Rigoberto Abrego is the current chief financial officer for IPS, formerly known as IRRA, Inc...

Before working for IPS Abrego worked as assistant superintendent at Edinburg CISD.

However, he resigned in 2010 amid an investigation into sexual harassment at that district...

... [several women] filed grievances back in May against Rigoberto Abrego for sexual harassment...

But it was not just employees; a student also filed one of the grievances...

Raymundo Valdez, the legal counsel for IPS, said one of the three grievances had been resolved, but that the school board was looking into the other two.

In the meantime, Abrego has continued working at the central offices and has not been placed on leave or under any sanctions, according to Valdez.

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More at “IRRA Charter School Under Investigation.” KRGV 5 News (TX), 9/20/2012

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Quest Academy (NV)

“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:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/113454427/state-letter-to-QUEST-ACADEMY

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Eagle Charter Academy

“Financial problems close three charter schools in Broward.” The Miami Herald (FL), 9/14/2012

Parents, students and teachers are unexpectedly scrambling to find a new school.

The abrupt end was punctuated by locked doors and silence at one school, and with a chaotic gathering of parents and students at another.

But the story at three Broward charter schools was essentially the same on Friday: financial problems had led to closure, leaving parents and students to unexpectedly scramble to find a new place to enroll.

“We should have had way more time to look for other schools for our kids,” said Nicole Williams, whose son Alfonso was a 10th-grader at Eagle Charter Academy in Lauderdale Lakes, one of the three schools now closed. Also closing this week were the nearby SMART Charter School (run by the same company as Eagle Charter), and Touchdowns4life Charter School in Tamarac, which was founded by former Miami Dolphins running back Terry Kirby.

Williams said the school sent her a notification letter on Wednesday...

Broward school district officials said Eagle and SMART shut down because of shrinking enrollment, and district spokeswoman Tracy Clark said Touchdowns4life’s closure was due to “funding” issues — likely also enrollment-related, since charter schools are funded almost entirely based on the number of students who attend...

Annual audits for all three schools show deep financial troubles...

The parent company of Eagle and SMART, according to the most recent audit, owed a $1.2 million debt to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes...

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“Three Broward County charter schools abruptly close.”Sun Sentinel (FL), 9/14/2012

Three Broward County charter schools abruptly closed this week, leaving parents scrambling and exposing a potential dark side to schools designed to be appealing alternatives to traditional public schools.

Touchdowns4Life, a financially troubled school in Tamarac founded by former Miami Dolphins running back Terry Kirby, closed its doors Tuesday. On Wednesday, Eagle Charter Academy and SMART Charter School, both operated by the same company, informed parents they would close their doors and gave parents until Friday to pick up student records...

The sudden closure of the three schools has also raised questions about who oversees them. Neither parents nor the school district, which contracts with the schools, had prior warning, said district spokeswoman Tracy Clark.

In the case of Eagle Charter Academy, its Board of Trustees was also left in the dark.

Some Eagle Charter parents said Friday the curriculum was disorganized this year and their students were doing little or no work...

Angelia Millender, who chaired the Eagle Charter board, which met about two or three times a year, said she didn't get into the daily operations of the school.

She said it didn't even have the authority to hire or fire the principal, which was the responsibility of TechEdventures, a private charter school company, which operated Eagle Academy and SMART Charter School...

... "If (problems) were happening, maybe they were telling someone. They weren't telling board members."

TechEdventures founder and CEO Edward Miller couldn't be reached for comment, despite an attempt by phone...

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“3 Broward Charter Schools Close Their Doors.” NBC Miami (FL), 9/14/2012

Three Broward charter schools closed their doors to students Friday, a day after the school board was notified of the closures...

Eagle Charter Academy has been in the news recently amid allegations former dean Jeffrey London molested at least three boys over an 18-year period. London has pleaded not guilty.

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