There are always gems to be found when you comb through district and charter board minutes, agendas, and websites. I did that last night and found a ton of stuff! Instead of coming out with a dozen or more articles about it, I thought I would just combine all of it one fell swoop! There is A LOT of material in here so dig in!
First State Montessori Academy
Christina, Brandywine, Colonial, & Red Clay Named In Ridiculous Lawsuit Filed By Charter School Development Corporation
Charter Schools Development CorporationThe four Wilmington, Delaware traditional school districts are in the middle of a long lawsuit filed against them by the Charter Schools Development Corporation last January. But the lawsuit itself is absurd!
Charter School Salaries Over $100,000: DAPSS, DE Military Academy, Early College High, First State Military, & First State Montessori
Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security, Delaware Military Academy, Early College High School, First State Military Academy, First State Montessori AcademyIn the next round of Delaware charter schools that have salaries over $100,000, we have an eclectic mix that include two Kent County schools and three New Castle county. Two are military schools, one has a pseudo-religious theme, one is a first responder school, and the other has a unique partnership with Delaware State University. In my eyes, if you are going to have a charter school, make it different from the schools around you. And these charters certainly fit the bill! Two of them, as you can see by their demographics, are on my radar of what I view as skewed special populations in some areas. One of them, however, could disappear by the end of June if they don’t get their student enrollment up very soon! Delaware Military Academy is authorized by Red Clay Consolidated School District. ECHS and the two FSMAs opened up after the News Journal came out with their salary article in 2014.
Five Delaware Charters Renewed, One With Major Conditions & Another Didn’t Have A Complete Record
Delaware Charter School Renewals
Last night at the Delaware State Board of Education meeting, five Delaware charter schools received unanimous approval from board members. Academia Antonia Alonso, Early College High School, First State Montessori Academy, and Sussex Academy were approved with no conditions. For Thomas Edison Charter School, that was a different story. And for another, the State Board did not get a complete record.
Gregory Coverdale Resigned From The State Board of Education & Other State Board News
Delaware State Board of EducationThe Delaware State Board of Education has a vacancy! Board member Gregory Coverdale resigned before the November State Board meeting and it was announced by President Dennis Loftus at the meeting. His term expired prior to that but he decided to continue his seat until a replacement was found. Coverdale was unable to continue serving due to work commitments. Chances are good Governor John Carney will wait until the new year to nominate Coverdale’s replacement. The 149th General Assembly returns in mid-January.
The State Board of Ed has their next meeting on December 14th, at 5pm. The big news will be the charter school renewal-palooza with five schools awaiting the big decision. Public comment on those renewals ended today. Academia Antonia Alonso, Early College High School, First State Montessori Academy, Sussex Academy, and Thomas Edison Charter School are all up for renewal. Delaware Secretary of Education will announce her recommendation for each school and then the State Board will vote on each school.
Other items on the agenda for the State Board meeting include an update on the State Board’s Literacy Campaign, a presentation on the DPAS Annual Report, a Regulation dealing with matching Delaware state code with Federal Law concerning visually impaired students, a Regulation about Financial Literacy and Computer Science standards, a few Regulations from the Professional Standards Board on teacher licensure, and a couple of information items about appeals between students and the Smyrna School District.
What is NOT on the agenda is Regulation 225. For those who don’t know, the Regulation received 11,000 comments which will take some time for Secretary Bunting to review. She did thank all who submitted public comment. This information appeared on the agenda for the meeting on Thursday concerning Regulation 225:
The public comment period for proposed 225 Prohibition of Discrimination Regulation closed on December 4, 2017. The Department received more than 11,000 comments, which deserve careful review before a decision is made. Secretary Bunting is asking the Development Team to reconvene in January to review the comments and make recommendations for changes to the regulation. If substantive changes are made, the regulation will be published in the Register again with another 30-day public comment period before any decision on a final regulation is made.
Secretary Bunting thanks, those who shared their feedback during the formal comment period. All comments received will be posted online so the public, as well as committee members, can review them prior to the January Development Team meeting.
I expect a full house with the charter renewals so if you plan on attending I would get there early! Good luck to Greg Coverdale in his future endeavors!
Academia Antonia Alonso, Early College H.S., First State Montessori, Sussex Academy and Thomas Edison All Get Renewal Recommendations But One Has Serious Conditions
Delaware Charter School RenewalsAll five of the Delaware charter schools have received renewal recommendations from the Charter School Accountability Committee (CSAC). The State Board of Education will decide if they agree at their December 14th meeting. Anyone wishing to submit formal public comment must do so by December 8th. Everything looks good for these charters except for one of them. Which one?
Controversial 5 Mile Radius Bill To Be Heard In Senate Education Committee On Wednesday
Newark Charter SchoolHouse Substitute 1 for House Bill 85 is on the agenda for the Sokola Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, June 7th at 3:30pm. State Senator David Sokola has stuffed the agenda with six bills, but in a half-hour time span. Most of the other bills shouldn’t raise too many eyebrows though. The House Education Committee canceled their meeting on Wednesday. Even though most people have their eye on the budget, it is always a good idea to see what else is going on. Between this bill, the Coastal Zone Act reorganization, legal marijuana, death penalty, and Lord knows what else will come up, we need eyes and ears more than ever down at Legislative Hall!
I will say upfront I oppose this bill because of the House Substitute that removes the Christina School District Wilmington students from this. This added language (which was insisted on by Senator Sokola) only serves to benefit one school: Newark Charter School.
To see what is on tap for ALL the committee meetings, this week, please go here: http://legis.delaware.gov/CommitteeMeetings
Big Year For Charter Renewals Coming: Academia Antonia Alonso, Early College High School, First State Montessori, Sussex Academy & Thomas Edison
Delaware Charter SchoolsFive Delaware charter schools will go through their charter renewal process next Fall. The Delaware Department of Education’s Charter School Office had what I am sure was a huge task of sending out reports to the schools. Academia Antonia Alonso, Early College High School, First State Montessori Academy, Sussex Academy, and Thomas Edison Charter School are all up for renewal. With any charter school renewal, the DOE goes through everything: Academics, Financial, and Organizational. No stone is left unturned. With five charters and all three Delaware counties represented in these renewals, the public hearings will be everywhere. But it looks like the Charter School Office has planned ahead and scheduled different public hearings on different days. Last year, there was only one charter school (Academy of Dover) that went through the renewal process. There would have been two but Prestige Academy opted to close their doors at the end of this school year.
In reviewing the below renewal reports and the charter schools responses to those reports, I didn’t have any alarm bells going off. I do have concerns about the demographics of two of these schools, First State Montessori Academy and Sussex Academy. At least one of these schools has some financial issues that seem to have flown under the radar for a long time now. Hopefully more will come out during this process. And one of them, I strongly suspect but can’t prove…yet, has a secret going all the way back to the origin of their school…
Here are all the schools renewal reports from the Charter School Office, their responses, and the timeline issued by the Charter School Office for this mammoth process:
Academia Antonia Alonso:
Early College High School
First State Montessori Academy
Sussex Academy
Thomas Edison Charter School
Charter School Renewal Timeline:
Sussex Montessori School, If Approved, Will Bring A Second Charter School To Sussex County
Sussex Montessori SchoolThe Delaware Department of Education received one application for a new charter school in the 2018-2019 school year: Sussex Montessori School. For the parents of students in Kindergarten to 6th grade who are interested in the “Montessori Approach”, this potential second charter school in Sussex County, Delaware could change the face of many surrounding districts, including Laurel, Seaford, and even Indian River. By putting an enrollment preference of wanting a Montessori approach, this school could already filter out some of the surrounding students due to a lack of understanding of Montessori methods. Many feel First State Montessori Academy, which has a top priority preference for those interested in Montessori despite having a five-mile radius, is not balanced well with high-needs students in the area.
Where this application loses me is quoting the Rodel Foundation and Vision 2025, as well as using standardized test scores as a barometer for student achievement. The application was submitted by Montessori Works, a non-profit 501c3 corporation. They have received initial funding from the Longwood Foundation, the Welfare Foundation, and Discover Bank. If approved, the plans call for a $4.4 million dollar 32,000 square foot facility on ten acres of land between Bridgeville and Laurel which the group expects funding by the above three entities or a financial institution.
I didn’t recognize many of the names with the founding group of this school, but a couple stuck out. Trish Hermance was the Head of School for Campus Community until 2013. Brett Taylor was involved with the Delaware STEM Academy which failed to open due to low enrollment and charter revocation by the State Board of Education. But you can read the resumes of all the founding group and support. Their feasibility study shows an initial student population of 300 students in the first year (2018) and 450 students by 2023.
Last month, the Christina Board of Education voted 6-1 to keep the Montessori program in their district despite shrinking enrollment due to First State Montessori Academy in Wilmington a couple of years ago. There are currently no Montessori programs in Kent County but the Jefferson School in Georgetown exists. With that being said, the class size once children get out of pre-school and Kindergarten is only six to eight students per class. It is not considered a good school by many parents in the area according to an anonymous source. Typically, as in years past, the State Board of Education would vote on final approval at their April board meeting.
Will Sussex County See A Montessori Charter School In The Future?
Sussex Montessori Charter SchoolSussex County in Delaware could have their second charter school in the coming years in the form of another Delaware Montessori charter. This hint was given at, of all places, a Christina School District Board of Education meeting.
Timing is everything as they say and part of that is being at the right place at the right time. During public comment at the Christina board meeting yesterday, a gentleman with what appeared to be a national Montessori movement (my apologies for not having the exact information on his role) spoke in support of Christina’s Montessori program. An action item on the board’s agenda, which failed to pass, could have closed the program in the district. But during the man’s public comment, he talked about Montessori programs in Delaware. He indicated if Christina did not renew the program, Delaware would be the first state in the country to see a failed Montessori program. He spoke about the popularity of First State Montessori Academy, a charter school in downtown Wilmington. He also said the Christina program serves students in the Newark area. But he also said there is an application in the works for a Sussex County Montessori charter school.
Nothing is showing up on the Delaware Dept. of Education’s website for ANY submitted charter school applications. The deadline for new charter applications for the 2018-2019 school year is January 3rd, 2017. I will certainly keep checking to see if any applications do show up.
Which Charters are Suing Christina and the Delaware DOE?
Delaware Chancery CourtYes, a group of Delaware charters are trying to strike gold over the charter funding issue. Which charters? Newark Charter School, Las Americas ASPIRA Academy, Academia Antonia Alonso, Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security, EastSide Charter School, Family Foundations Academy, First State Montessori Academy, Freire Charter School of Wilmington, Gateway Charter School, Great Oaks, Kuumba Academy, MOT Charter School, Odyssey Charter School, Providence Creek Academy, and Thomas Edison Charter School. As well, there are a handful of parents suing on behalf of their minor children. Below are the complaints filed against Christina and the Delaware DOE. There is also a motion to expedite proceedings. I have not had time to fully read these, but I will after the ESSA Discussion Group meeting tonight. This is going to turn Delaware education on its ear!
2016 Delaware Charter School Inspection Shows Severe Lack Of Transparency
Delaware Charter Schools, Transparency
Many Delaware charter schools failed a recent inspection on financial, organizational, and governance transparency. No charter school received a perfect score on this inspection. The ones who failed did so miserably.
Delaware law is very clear about what charter schools are required to do. Other public meeting laws in Delaware, which have been supported through legal opinions on FOIA complaints, are very clear as well. Last night, I went through every single charter school website to look for eight things: Their monthly financial information was up to date (July 2016), they posted their last annual audit (2015), they posted their IRS 990 Tax Form (as a non-profit), they posted their board agenda for their most recent meeting, they posted their board minutes (based on when they had their last meeting and were able to approve those minutes), they put an agenda up for their Citizens Budget Oversight Committee, they put up the minutes for their CBOC meetings, and a Delaware Department of Education representative was present at those CBOC meetings.
Most of the Delaware charter schools failed this inspection. One of them (considered to be a very successful charter school) didn’t pass any category. Some charter schools feel as though they don’t have to meet during the summer and prepare for the new school year. There was no charter school that received a perfect score. I understand things slow down in the summer, but not meeting is inexcusable in my book. Some charters need to do a lot of work on their websites. Hunting and pecking to find information is not in the vein of transparency.
The most disturbing aspect is the apparent lack of oversight coming from the Delaware Department of Education. More specifically, the Charter School Office. They may monitor the charters, and I’m glad a DOE representative is attending most of their CBOC meetings, but where is the public transparency of that monitoring? Jennifer Nagourney worked very hard to get this aspect turned around with charters. I would hate to see her hard work disappear.
The way CBOC laws are written, quarterly meetings are okay. But some charters meet monthly. I’m not going to dink you if you don’t meet every single month. I think districts and charters should have monthly CBOC meetings. A quick note about IRS 990 tax filings: these can vary on the tax year. If a school had their 2014 return on there, I counted them as being in compliance. If it was older or they didn’t have any tax filings on their website, they got hit. This is required by law. Only one charter school in Delaware is not required to file a 990: Newark Charter School. I don’t agree with it.
*This article has been updated to include Great Oaks Wilmington which was inadvertently left out of the original article.
Academia Antonia Alonso
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2012
Board Agenda: 7/27/16
Board Minutes: June 2016
CBOC Agenda: June 2016
CBOC Minutes: June 2016
DOE Rep: Yes
Academy of Dover
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2014
Board Agenda: 8/25/16
Board Minutes: June 2016
CBOC Agenda: 8/25/16
CBOC Minutes: June 2016
DOE Rep: Yes
Campus Community School
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None (searched, said “access denied”)
Board Agenda: 8/30/16
Board Minutes: June 2016
CBOC Agenda: 8/30/2016
CBOC Minutes: 5/5/2016
DOE Rep: Yes
Charter School of Wilmington
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None
Board Agenda: 8/16/16
Board Minutes: June 2016 (no meeting in July)
CBOC Agenda: 5/18/16
CBOC Minutes: 5/18/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None
Board Agenda: none (has standard agenda)
Board Minutes: June 2016 (no meetings in July or August)
CBOC Agenda: May 2016
CBOC Minutes: April 2016
DOE Rep: Yes
Delaware Design-Lab High School
Financials: May 2016
Yearly Audit: n/a
990: n/a
Board Agenda: 8/22/16
Board Minutes: 5/26/16
CBOC Agenda: None
CBOC Meeting: 4/25/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Delaware Military Academy
Financials: 6/30/16
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None (no search button on website)
Board Agenda: 6/27/16
Board Minutes: 5/23/16 (states no meetings in July or August)
CBOC Agenda: None (has standing agenda)
CBOC Minutes: June 2016
DOE Rep: No
Early College High School
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2014
Board Agenda: 8/25/16
Board Minutes: 4/28/16
CBOC Agenda: 7/21/16
CBOC Minutes: 4/28/16 (states no quorum at May & June Mtgs)
DOE Rep: Yes
EastSide Charter School
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None
Board Agenda: 8/17/16
Board Minutes: 6/16/16
CBOC Agenda: 7/26/16
CBOC Minutes: 7/26/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Family Foundations Academy
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2012
Board Agenda: 7/27/16
Board Minutes: 6/16/16
CBOC Agenda: 7/25/16
CBOC Minutes: 4/26/16
DOE Rep: Yes
First State Military Academy
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: n/a
990: n/a
Board Agenda: 8/23/16
Board Minutes: 7/26/16
CBOC Agenda: 6/24/16
CBOC Minutes: 6/24/16
DOE Rep: Yes
First State Montessori Academy
Financials: 2/29/16
Yearly Audit: None
990: None
Board Agenda: 9/1/16
Board Minutes: 5/26/16
CBOC Agenda: None (Standard Agenda)
CBOC Minutes: 5/19/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Freire Charter School of Wilmington
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: n/a
990: n/a
Board Agenda: 8/17/16
Board Minutes: 6/16/16
CBOC Agenda: 6/20/16 (noted August mtg canceled)
CBOC Minutes: 6/20/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Gateway Lab School
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2014
990: None
Board Agenda: 8/16/16
Board Minutes: 5/24/16
CBOC Agenda: 7/19/16
CBOC Minutes: 2/16/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Great Oaks Wilmington
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: n/a
990: n/a
Board Agenda: 7/27/16 (schedule shows 8/22 board meeting, no agenda)
Board Minutes: 7/27/16
CBOC Agenda: None (shows area for this but none listed)
CBOC Minutes: None (shows area for this but no minutes listed)
DOE Rep: None
Kuumba Academy
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2014
990: None
Board Agenda: 5/12/16
Board Minutes: 5/12/16 (states no meeting held in June)
CBOC Agenda: 7/12/16
CBOC Minutes: 7/12/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Las Americas Aspiras Academy
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2014
Board Agenda: 8/25/16
Board Minutes: 5/26/16
CBOC Agenda: 8/22/16
CBOC Minutes: 6/20/16
DOE Rep: Yes
MOT Charter School
Financials: None
Yearly Audit: None
990: None
Board Agenda: 6/14/16
Board Minutes: 5/25/16 (June Mtg. Canceled)
CBOC Agenda: None
CBOC Minutes: None
DOE Rep: None
*website states for further information to call the business office
Newark Charter School
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: not required
Board Agenda: 8/16/16
Board Minutes: 7/19/16
CBOC Agenda: 5/17/16
CBOC Minutes: 5/17/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Odyssey Charter School
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2011
Board Agenda: 8/17/16
Board Minutes: 6/21/16
CBOC Agenda: 7/20/16
CBOC Minutes: 6/26/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Positive Outcomes
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2014
Board Agenda: 7/20/16
Board Minutes: 5/18/16 (no meeting in June)
CBOC Agenda: 7/20/16
CBOC Minutes: 7/20/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Prestige Academy
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None
Board Agenda: 8/16/16
Board Minutes: 7/19/16
CBOC Agenda: 8/16/16
CBOC Minutes: 2/16/16
DOE Rep: None
Providence Creek Academy
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None
Board Agenda: 8/23/16
Board Minutes: 7/26/16
CBOC Agenda: 8/18/2016
CBOC Minutes: 8/18/2016
DOE Rep: Yes
Sussex Academy
Financials: June 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: FY2014
Board Agenda: 7/27/16
Board Minutes: 6/15/16 (no August meeting)
CBOC Agenda: 5/17/16
CBOC Minutes: 5/17/16 (says next meeting won’t be until October)
DOE Rep: None
Thomas Edison Charter School
Financials: July 2016
Yearly Audit: FY2015
990: None
Board Agenda: 8/15/16
Board Minutes: 7/18/16
CBOC Agenda: 9/14/16
CBOC Minutes: 3/2/16
DOE Rep: Yes
Charter schools are public schools. You set some autonomy based on how the laws are written. But you still have to adhere to the law. You don’t live in a separate bubble in Delaware. On one hand, charters beg to be treated the same, and on the other, they beg to be treated different because of that “autonomy”. I don’t buy the excuse that any single charter school in this state doesn’t know about these requirements. If you open a bank, you better believe that bank looks into all of the operating laws they have to adhere to.
These inspections didn’t even get into the meat of your board minutes. A lot of you feel you don’t really have to give any detail. Some of your CBOC meetings don’t list which members are community representatives. I gave many of you bad scores if you haven’t had a CBOC meeting in over three months. Even if you don’t have a quorum, you still have to post minutes. And MOT… really? Call the business office to get more information? Just because you do great on Smarter Balanced doesn’t mean you are immune from transparency. Last year, the Charter School Accountability Committee found nothing wrong in MOT’s charter renewal process. They were approved unanimously for renewal without this subject EVER coming up.
I could file a ton of FOIA complaints today. I’m not going to. I’m going to give you until September 30th to correct these things. If I don’t see any improvement or very little, I start filing.
There were five charter schools who I felt, even though they got hit on one thing, have made a sincere effort to be transparent: Academy of Dover, Campus Community School, First State Military Academy, Las Americas Aspiras, and Providence Creek Academy. Honorary mentions go to Newark Charter School, Positive Outcomes, Sussex Academy, and Thomas Edison. But the rest of you need a lot of work. Sadly, some of you haven’t come far when I did this two years ago and a Valentines Day blitz inspection in 2015 and then another inspection in July 2015. Some actually did worse. Out of all the charters that did well on these inspections, they included most of the Kent and Sussex County charters but only two New Castle County charters. That I don’t get. I beat up on charters a lot. But I am getting around to beating up on districts more as well. I will give all of you a very fair warning: record your meetings and put the recordings up in seven business days. Kilroy may be quiet now, but he didn’t fight for the “all boards must record” legislation for kicks. He will monitor if you are doing this, and if you aren’t… watch out!
Perhaps Kendall Massett with the Delaware Charter Schools Network will agree or not agree with me on these transparency issues. But I believe, as a non-profit that supports charter schools, this should be their fight as well. Charter schools are at a crossroads right now. Many states are issuing moratoriums on charter schools. Delaware did this a year and a half ago. They can either operate as public schools or face the wrath of public perception. I don’t believe ALL charters are like the ones depicted on the John Oliver Show last weekend. But we all know Delaware could have easily been portrayed on that episode with some things that have happened here. Some of the charter schools in this inspection: don’t be lulled into a false sense of security because of this article. Know that I know things and you are on my radar.
Student Body Activity In Delaware Schools A Hotbed For Fraud & Abuse! Why Is $118,126.88 Such An Important Number?
Delaware Student Body Activity ExpensesThe Delaware accounting system is a train wreck of epic proportions. I found 100% proof funds were switched around that benefit certain schools. We have one charter school that can’t even follow proper accounting procedures and another charter school that seems to think Student Body Activities are their personal playground.
For something like this chart, I would expect to see school districts firmly in the lead, but we don’t see that at all. Cape Henlopen is a bit of an oddity when it comes to Delaware school districts. They get a lot of money from school taxes and the residents in those areas don’t seem to mind paying them. But Newark Charter School, with $445,000 in student body activities? That is an excessively high amount. For a charter school with a student population of less than 14% of the neighboring Christina School District, they spend 17 times more on activities for students than Christina. Four districts and one charter don’t even have anything coded as “Student Body Activity” with the state: Caesar Rodney, Colonial, Delmar, Sussex Tech, and Sussex Academy. Do they not have any student body activities or do they just put it somewhere else in the Rubik’s Cube called the Delaware Financial System (DFS)?
So how does this even work? Are districts and charters paying out for field trips and fun activities and then reimbursing those costs as revenue generated from parents paying for them? Are these schools paying for them without collecting any money from students? Or is it a combination of both?
Do these activities affect the bottom line for the per student costs for each district and charter school?
Rocketing to number one with $108,000 in student body activity costs based on their number of students is Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security (DAPSS). That sure is a lot of field trips! We know they bought a fire truck for their students last winter, but those funds were generated from a collection by students. So what accounts for such a high amount based on their student population? I went on Delaware Online Checkbook and found that DAPPS is coding all their student transportation costs under student body activity. So that throws their numbers way off! We can clearly see the transportation costs as part of this category, with an amount totaling $84,236. Had they coded this correctly, under student transportation, their costs for student body activity would have been a little over $23,000.
For Newark Charter School’s student body activity expenses on Delaware Online Checkbook, there is no explanation for their very high amounts. While we do see transportation costs, they are not as high as DAPSS. They appear to be transportation costs associated with field trips. What is even more bizarre are the many payments going to certain individuals. As if they are parents or teachers. We see amounts going out to American Airlines for 26 purchases of what I assume to be airline tickets at $818 each and one for $875 totaling over $21,000 on 2/5/16 which were bought with the state procurement card on 1/15/16. I reviewed NCS board minutes and found no mention of any big field trips for students taking place that would warrant such high airline ticket prices. The state’s accounting manual is explicit that no state employee can purchase first class airline tickets. So where was this trip to that cost $818 for each ticket?
Cape Henlopen has an obscene amount of p-card activity associated with student body activities under student body activity. Like Newark Charter School, I see a lot of names associated with these charges.
Where this gets incredibly odd is when I went to look at examples of student body activity for different school districts and charters. A Delaware citizen submitted a FOIA request to the state and received the FOIA in early July. All of this citizen’s information was run by the Department of Finance on 7/2/16 for every single district and charter school’s expenses for Fiscal Year 2016. June 30th was the end of the fiscal year. All the charts and graphs I have made to date have been based on those figures. But upon review, amounts are changing in the state accounting system. The total expenditures for each district and charter are the same, but funds are moving around in the coding system. As an example, Odyssey Charter School showed over $35,000 in student body activity costs. But when I look now on Delaware Online Checkbook, the amount is over $153,000. This trend occurred with many districts and charters, some for nominal amounts and some for rather considerable amounts. And this is just under student body activity expenses.
In looking at Odyssey, it became clear something was up, so I was able to actually find the exact amount that was shifted over to student body activity.
In the above picture, we clearly see Odyssey Charter School, as of 21:06:44 on 07/02/16 had a total amount for FY2016 in Student Body Activity in the amount of $35,831.91.
In the above snapshot, taken from Delaware Online Checkbook today about ten minutes ago, we clearly see an amount showing $153,958.79. The difference between the two is $118,126.88. That is a rather steep increase for student body activities! In looking at their expenses for student body activity for Odyssey, I found two rather large amounts going to First Student Inc. This is the bus company Odyssey uses. As seen in the below picture, the two charges were for $69,486.40 and $48,640.48. If you add those up, you get $118,126.88. Now why would those funds be shifted from some other category to student body activity?
The two payments to First Student Inc. are listed in the below picture.
So if $118,126.88 was shifted to Student Body Activity, where did the funds come from? If Odyssey’s total expenditures didn’t change, what happened to the money? In the FOIA from 7/2/16, it clearly shows Odyssey’s Fleet Rental costs at $612,546.34.
Now watch what happens when I go on Delaware Online Checkbook to find out the current Fleet Rental amount for Odyssey Charter School…
Wait, it went down from $612,546.34 to $494,419.46. That is a difference of $118,126.88…
There is one thing charter schools get that traditional school districts don’t get. Some call it the transportation slush fund. Every year, in the epilogue to the state budget, there is a stipulation that allows charter schools to keep any difference between their budgeted amount for transportation and what they actually spend. For Odyssey, this is listed as “Transportation” in their budget. These costs go up each year. But how much did charter schools get to keep from these surplus funds. Surely it wasn’t that much. In the below pictures from FY2014 and FY2015, we see how much charters get back from this slush fund.
Odyssey has clearly benefitted from this arrangement with legislators that has continued for the past seven years in the epilogue of the state budget. I sincerely hope charters aren’t hiding any funds so they can actually get more from the Delaware Charter School Transportation Slush Fund then they already are!
What I am more curious about with these coding changes are 1) Why are they happening, 2) Who is making the changes, and 3) Are both the districts or charters and the state aware of these changes if only one of them are making the changes? Something to keep in mind is this simple fact: this is only for Student Body Activity. There are hundreds of codes in the Delaware Financial System. This is just what I could find for our schools in one code.
In the picture above, this is based on rounded off figures to the nearest dollar which is why the Odyssey number doesn’t match up with the $118,126.88 I mentioned a few times. I have not been able to look at the other schools to see where the money is going to. Odyssey was easy because of the high amounts involved. While some of these amounts are small, what other shifts are going on? Why are they going on for other areas if they are? We know districts and charters code things incorrectly but who monitors that? Does anyone? And how much does all this shifting of taxpayer dollars affect funding for the next fiscal year?
I would strongly recommend each district or charter school Chief Operating Officer or Business Manager proactively gets in touch with me and voluntarily lets me know of any changes being made to the Delaware Financial System, the justification for these changes, and how they are able to do it. If they aren’t aware of these changes, they need to let me know that as well. Because as I go through each of the different codes in the coming weeks, I will find more. I’ve already done a cursory glance at different (and major) categories and found excessive sums of money shifting around. If you don’t get in touch with me, don’t get upset when I blast the lack of transparency from your school or district in each article. We know this is happening. So the choice is simple: be held accountable or be honest. If there is funny business, you know I will expose it and call you out on it. And each time, I am submitting requests to the State Auditor’s office for each and every category. So you can ignore me all you want, but know that someone else will be knocking on your door. And if the State Auditor’s office ignores this, it is time to take steps at a Federal level. None of you who are manipulating funds will be allowed to do so anymore. If the Auditor won’t hold you accountable, I will. And I will make so much noise you won’t be able to hear above the outcries of the citizens in your district or charter school. This begins now. I don’t want to hear any crap about “I didn’t know” or “no one ever told me”. You are all subject to the rules of this state. Your excuses are exactly that: an excuse. If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you won’t have anything to worry about. But someone has to shake all this up and see what settles at the bottom.
I sincerely hope I’m not spoiling anyone’s party and ruining a chance to get some extra money for themselves. The party’s over. Deal with it.
State Board of Education Approved Modifications For DAPSS, DE Design-Lab, First State Montessori, & Prestige Academy
DE Design-Lab High School, Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security, Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Steven Godowsky, Delaware State Board of Education, First State Montessori Academy, Prestige AcademyThe Delaware State Board of Education approved all the major modifications that came across their table last Thursday. The charter schools involved either raised or lowered their enrollment numbers with their modification applications.
Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security got rid of 8th grade and lowered their enrollment numbers to 330 for the 2016-2017 school year with increased enrollment of 375 by the 2020-2021 school year to keep them as a 9th to 12th grade school.
Delaware Design-Lab High School also lowered their enrollment, but they will be adding 11th grade next year as per their original charter application. Their growth is a bit more aggressive with 350 students in 9th-11th grade for 2016-2017, 475 for 2017-2018 when they add 12th grade, and up to 600 by 2019-2020.
First State Montessori Academy, who will be taking over the former Delaware Met building next door to them, was approved to add a middle school with students in 6th to 8th grade. Their enrollment for 2016-2017 must be 430 students in Kindergarten to 6th grade and by 2021-2022 they must have 654 students in K-8.
Prestige Academy is now a 6th to 8th grade school instead of a 5th to 8th middle school, and their enrollment has been lowered to 240 from the 2016-2017 school year and every year proceeding that.
Odyssey Charter School had a modification approved without the consent of the State Board of Education since it was considered a minor modifications. Their modification surrounded enrollment with increases less than 15%. Odyssey’s approved enrollment includes their high school which will make them a K-12 school by the 2019-2020 year. Both Kuumba Academy and Great Oaks Charter School had similar minor modifications approved in February by Secretary Godowsky with no grade level changes.
With the charter moratorium for Wilmington still in effect from House Bill 56, no new charter schools can apply for a Wilmington location. But that doesn’t seem to stop the existing schools from tweaking their numbers. Many First State Montessori parents wanted the change, but some folks submitted public comment around their enrollment preferences and were worried this could create more bias in the school. Prestige and Delaware Design-Lab were both on probation due to low enrollment figures last year. Their will still be many charter school enrollment changes next school year based on these approvals. More students in flux around Wilmington is not, in my opinion, a way to stabilize the situation with constant student movement in the city. If the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission redistricting plan is approved by the 148 General Assembly, it will create even more flux with students as Christina’s Wilmington schools become a part of the Red Clay Consolidated School District.
Charter Modification Update: DAPSS, DE Design-Lab & First State Montessori Get Thumbs Up From DOE
DE Design-Lab High School, Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security, First State Montessori Academy
Three of the five charters that submitted major modification requests to the Charter School Office at the Delaware Department of Education got the green light today. The Charter School Accountability Committee held their final meetings with the three schools today. All three received a recommendation of approval from the committee. The State Board of Education will make the final decision at their March meeting.
Two other schools that submitted major mods have meetings tomorrow with the CSAC. Prestige Academy has their last meeting and Academia Antonia Alonso has their first. Another school, Odyssey Charter School, submitted a minor modification for enrollment changes but Secretary of Education Godowsky exercised his authority to give them the CSAC treatment. They also meet with the CSAC tomorrow.
Should the State Board approve all these modifications, many students will be in flux next year. First State Montessori will increase their enrollment significantly. Two other charters submitted minor modifications for up to 15% increases: Great Oaks and Kuumba Academy. They only need Secretary approval and not the State Board. Prestige, Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security, and Delaware Design-Lab will decrease their enrollment. Academia Antonia Alonso will actually move their location from the Community Education Building. This is on top of Delaware Met closing in January and Delaware College Prep closing at the end of this school year. In December, Red Clay’s board approved a modification for Delaware Military Academy to start increasing their enrollment in the 2017-2018 school year. Who needs a freeze on new charter applications when the Delaware DOE becomes Grand Central Station for Wilmington charter school students?
First State Montessori Academy Enrollment Preference Arguments Heat Up
First State Montessori Academy
On Saturday, I published an article concerning First State Montessori Academy’s major modification request to increase their enrollment and add middle school grades. To say this has been controversial would be an understatement. Public Comment, whether it was on this blog or through the official public comment channel on the DOE Charter School Office website. Last night, the Public Hearing for First State Montessori’s major modification request was held. When the transcript from the hearing becomes available I will put it up here.
At their December 2nd board meeting, First State Montessori talked about forming a committee to explore the option of increasing their enrollment and adding extra grades. The board passed a motion to increase their enrollment by 5-15%. School leader Courtney Fox said they would have to get a major modification request to the DOE by 12/31/15. What is very interesting here is the school leader’s mention of the Delaware Met building next to them, at 920 N. French St. While she doesn’t come out and say it, it is obvious the school is assuming Delaware Met would be closed. The board doesn’t even mention the possibility of adding middle school grades at this point in time either, only adding more Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. As well, Fox, who is NOT a member of the board, announces a future meeting to discuss the possibility of the modification request and increasing their enrollment. Why did the board not vote on this? Does Fox run the board as well as the school?
On December 19th, an agenda for a 12/28/15 board meeting was put up on their website. It indicated their would be an update on the Exploring Expansion Committee. One would assume the board voted at that meeting on their major modification request and to add middle school grades. By this time, the announcement by the State Board of Education over Del Met’s closure was old news. Three days after Christmas is a very odd time to have a board meeting. While the board did do the right thing in putting up the agenda at least a week prior to the meeting, how much ability was there for members of the public to know about this meeting and potentially weigh in on the topic? On the flip side, the State Board voted on the charter revocation for Del Met on 12/16 so the school had to see what would happen with that decision before moving forward. But I still find it ironic there is no definitive plan set in motion earlier in December to add middle school grades to the school and all of a sudden it materializes in their major modification request submitted on 12/30/15.
This is merely conjecture on my part, but we already know the DOE suggested DAPSS submit a major modification request instead of a minor modification request. How much input should the DOE have in suggesting modification requests to Delaware charter schools? And what of Kendall Massett with the Delaware Charter Schools Network who seems to be a intermediary between charter schools and the Delaware DOE? I will be very upfront and say something really doesn’t smell right here. And with all these modification requests coming from charter schools how can we be sure this could not somehow influence the State Board of Education’s vote on the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission redistricting plan?
In the meantime, check out what folks had to say about this hot topic:
“J” said:
Kevin, the interest in Montessori thing is as easy as taking a tour or even talking for a moment to someone from the school in the community. They are at the expo and other events. Have held info sessions at local libraries, etc. It’s easy. The Montessori model is very different. There are mixed grade classrooms, no traditional desks, no traditional homework packets. Very different and something that families and students should be aware of. “Interest” in this case is awareness of the differences, that’s all.
Ask about it – learn about it. Heck, e mail me. This doesn’t cherry pick anything.
Eve Buckley said:
The questions raised in the final comment have been asked since FSMA opened. According to DOE’s “school profiles” for this school year, FSMA students are 65% white and 8% low-income. The two districts surrounding it are 44% white, 35% low-income (Red Clay) and 32% white, 41% low-income (Christina); those figures include suburban regions with less poverty than the city. So FSMA could clearly be doing more to attract and retain a student population more reflective of its surrounding communities (or even of the countywide student population). No pressure in that direction from its authorizer?
Note that Cab and Newark Charter, also very popular “choice” options, also have low-income % around 8. That seems to be the sweet spot for appealing to middle class public school consumers in the area (if you can’t achieve the 2% attained via testing by CSW).
Mike O said:
For families who “choose not to apply” to charters such as NCS or Montessori, I am sure many don’t even realize those are public schools their child is eligible for. Which is how you get to 8% low income without testing
jane s said:
it’s especially sad to see this happening at an elementary school. the goal should be to give children the best start possible regardless of their background. this could be a place that helps children enter middle school and high school on equal ground, but instead it’s just adding to the divide. nothing will change if people don’t speak out.
Eve Buckley said:
I agree! It is really sad–waste of an opportunity.
jenn said:
hi. i think the practices of fsma are fair and comprehensive. interest becomes a priority only because the montessori method is not of interest to everyone, much like a dual-language school like aspira is not of high-priority to many families. if you are to apply to fsma, because it’s a school in your neighborhood, without carrying any interest in montessori principles, then how detrimental will that student be in the classroom? (in terms of congruence, not as a human!) i do not know why the five-mile radius is not ‘more of a priority’, but i believe the admissions process does indeed actively reach out to all areas throughout delaware. it just depends on who researches montessori/has experience with it, and who thinks it is an important addition to the learning process. shown by the small number of montessori schools across the country, and the small classroom size within those schools, one can only surmise that is it not a hot topic among majority of families in delaware or beyond, regardleses of SES, ethnicity or neighborhood. we are ultimately creatures of comfort, and stick to the path most traveled. a school like this, or any other magnet, charter, votech, etc has enrollment because of interest and the desire to trek the brambly, gravel path. please see the good nature of such schools. i know it doesn’t sell like trash-talking does, but in a society deprived of an identity, the journey to recreating one for delaware schools could stand to be a lot less hotheaded. thank you.
John Young said:
No idea who Jenn is, but maybe she should join that sorry CSAC team which appears to olnly authorize losing propositions in DE Charterland. Bet it would be a great fit for a truly dysfunctional organization.
Natalie Ganc said:
I think that a stipulation should be put on all of these charter schools claiming that their school panders to their geographical radius: They should have to go pound-the-pavement (pamphlet in hand) to educate their neighbors to inform them of all of the benefits their child will receive if they choose to enroll. I say this, because I am quite certain that the folks living in the high-poverty areas have no idea what some charter schools are all about.
And from the official public comment section on the DOE website:
Downtown First State Montessori & Great Oaks Look To Expand While DAPSS & Prestige Academy Look To Shrink
Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security, First State Montessori Academy, Great Oaks Charter School, Prestige AcademyFour charter schools in New Castle County submitted requests for modifications last month. Two are looking to get bigger while two want to get smaller. The two that want to expand are in the heart of downtown Wilmington while the two that want to shrink do not have the benefit of having the key downtown locations.
FIRST STATE MONTESSORI ACADEMY
First State Montessori Academy wants to become a K-8 school in 2016-2017. The shocking news in all this? They wrote about their intention to use the building Delaware Met resides in until January 22nd. The location is actually perfect if their modification request is approved. Aside from boiler issues, the building is already conducive to older students. The school is currently K-8, but they found they were losing a lot of 5th grade students so they could acclimate to the middle school environment. By going through 8th grade, this would eliminate that problem.
GREAT OAKS CHARTER SCHOOL
Great Oaks submitted a minor modification request to increase their enrollment by 25 students for the 2016-2017 school year. Their request shows that interim Smarter Balanced Assessments given to students are showing modest gains for students. The school is reporting NO violent incidents at the school whatsoever. In their application, Great Oaks indicated they are only using half of their designated space in the Community Education Building in downtown Wilmington.
DELAWARE ACADEMY OF PUBLIC SAFETY & SECURITY (DAPSS)
The Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security submitted a major modification request to the Delaware Department of Education Charter School Office on December 10th. They want to decrease their enrollment from their charter approved 480 students to 375 students, a reduction of 22%. What makes this very interesting is the fact other charter schools in Delaware have been placed on formal review for not having 80% of their approved enrollment in their charter. DAPSS has not met their approved enrollment figures for the past two years. The DOE looks at formal review status for charters if they fall below 80% of their approved enrollment based on the financial viability of the school.
According to the information submitted by DAPSS to the Charter School Office, their enrollment last year was 363, which put them at 76% of their approved enrollment. This year, the school lost 60 students and currently stand at 303 students. This is less than 64% of their approved enrollment. My biggest question would be why they were not put on formal review last year or this year based on this information.
For their performance framework, the school was labeled as “Does Not Meet Standard” for their organizational framework three out of the last four academic years, in 11-12, 12-13, and 14-15. For their financial framework, they were labeled as “Falls Far Below Standard” in 11-12, 13-14, and 14-15 and “Does Not Meet Standard” in 12-13. Once again, they have not been placed on formal review for their very negative ratings on the State Board of Education approved Charter School Performance Framework.
PRESTIGE ACADEMY
Like DAPSS, Prestige Academy wants to lower their enrollment, but they were put on formal review for this last spring along with academic concerns. As the only all-boys charter school in Delaware, Prestige Academy appears to be have been held under the microscope by the DOE quite a bit compared to DAPSS. The charter school is looking to drop 5th grade and would be middle school only, serving students in 6th-8th grade.
IMPACTS
All of this charter shuffling, if approved by Secretary of Education Dr. Steven Godowsky and the State Board of Education at their March meeting, comes at a curious time. With the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission and the redistricting of all Wilmington students (aside from Colonial) into Red Clay, this is a lot of movement for one city’s students. While House Bill 56 put a freeze on new charter applications in Wilmington for a few years or until the state can come up with a plan for all the charters in Wilmington, the existing ones look to capitalize on this and change their enrollment numbers to maximize the benefits for their growth (or shrinkage in two of these situations). It is actually very strategic on their part.
The downside to this would be the effect it has on the surrounding school districts, especially in the case of First State Montessori Academy. As a school that gets the bulk of their students from Christina School District, this could have a very debilitating effect on the already struggling school district. It is my contention House Bill 56 should have put a freeze on modifications like this as well, but at the same time preventing any charter school from going on formal review for low enrollment due to so many changes going on in Wilmington education.
The 920 N. French Street building is certainly up for grabs. I wrote a post last month that Las Americas ASPIRA Academy was looking at the location last month as well. First State Montessori would be using part of the building next year. Innovative Schools would be in some deep financial straits if they didn’t line up a tenant for this property right away. I have to wonder how that works with rent for Delaware Met. I assume they signed their sub-lease with Innovative Schools for a designated time period. Will that contract cease as of January 22nd or in the weeks afterwards as the school closes down operations or are they on the hook until June 30th?
Only one new approved charter school will open up in the 2016-2017 school year, Delaware STEM Academy. They will begin with 150 9th grade students, hoping to reach 600 students a few years after that. I am not aware of their current enrollment figures for their first year. The school choice window closes tomorrow. As required by state law, the school will need to be at 80% of their enrollment by April 1st to prevent a formal review for financial viability. While they escaped from formal review status last Spring, Delaware Design-Lab High School and Freire Charter School had major issues with their enrollment figures. They eventually met the 80% figures but not without some major angst along the way. Wilmington is a hot mess with far too many schools, in my humble opinion. I would have to think this was not State Rep. Charles Potter’s intention when he submitted the legislation for the charter school application freeze…
With All The Police Action At Delaware Met, How Does First State Montessori Academy Feel About That?
Delaware MET, First State Montessori AcademySometimes something just doesn’t click until it hits you. This was the case today when I realized Delaware Met’s direct neighbor is First State Montessori Academy. Can you imagine picking up your child at an elementary school to see students led out at the school next door in handcuffs? Or you look out your window and see kids fighting?
In the above picture, Delaware Met is at 920 N. French St. in Wilmington. Right next to it with nothing but a street dividing them, sits First State Montessori Academy. Even more ironic, their other neighbor to the side of them is the Carvel State Building, where the Delaware Department of Justice has their offices. In fact, I would guess that Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn can see the school from his office window. Only in Delaware!
First State Montessori services kids from Kindergarten to 6th grade. Delaware Met has teenagers in 9th and 10th grade. I’m sorry, but who plans this stuff? I have some of the same concerns with the Community Education Building housing all the different schools and different grades. This isn’t Little House on the Prairie! I don’t think young students should be in any way exposed to whatever is going on over at Delaware Met. There is a specific reason traditional school districts have middle schools and high schools strategically placed away from elementary schools. I firmly believe the Delaware charters up in Wilmington should coordinate with each other so potential problems don’t occur. It was announced last week that the Wilmington Police would have an officer outside the school in the afternoon when school got out.
The Season Of Myths 