[Vision2020] Fiscal Failures at Charter Schools
DonaldH675@aol.com
DonaldH675@aol.com
Tue, 29 Jul 2003 16:37:15 EDT
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Dear Visionaries,
One aspect of public education rarely discussed on this list is the charter
school. Charter schools are public schools paid for with public monies that
must meet state standards regarding achievement but which have a great deal of
latitude in how education is delivered. Locally, Moscow School District "holds"
the charters of Renaissance Public Charter School and Moscow Charter School,
but it has no statutory authority to address internal governance. MSD
conducts an annual review of the local charter schools which includes audited
financial records and educational testing scores, among other items. Recently, at an
MSD Board meeting preliminary approval for the year was granted to Moscow
Charter School and was withheld from Renaissance Charter School.
Charter school board members are not directly elected by the parents of
charter school parents or by the tax-payers in the charter school's district.
Rather, they are generally self-selected by school founders and evolve over to time
to include members nominated and voted for by the sitting board members. A
system of self-selection can make for a system rife with abuse. Our local
legislators have made gallant attempts to sponsor legislation that will correct
this glitch, but so far, the state legislature has not been able to enact a
statute that will remedy the situation.
Renaissance Public Charter School, which my grandchildren attended until
recently, is facing a huge deficit. (Approximately $18,000 was overspent during
last year's budget, they have a $9,000 holdback from the state, and they
misappropriated $5,000 from a grant that must be paid back.) This deficit is the
result of very poor financial management, state educational holdbacks, lack of
Board oversight, and a declining student population. It is not due, which is
the excuse offered by director Susan Seaman, to lower than expected daily
attendance, or - and this is a deliberate misrepresentation she favors - a planned
downsizing because the school buildings are small.
RPCS is blessed with an extraordinary faculty and cursed by fiscally
irresponsible administrators, and a historically disinterested board. (Not all board
members were disinterested, however they learned very quickly that they did
not hold a voting majority and were simply outvoted when disagreements arose.
Three of these board members, who represented the Lets-Not-Do-Business-As-Usual
party have recently resigned.) On the other hand, a long serving board member,
Ray Richmond has proudly summed up his duties by saying "our job is to rubber
stamp the director." He plans to continue on the Board until 2005 - at which
time he will have served 6 + years.
Unfortunately, while the truly wonderful teachers are working their bums off
to serve their students and giving Idaho tax payers the best bang for their
buck imaginable (they are paid well under the local teacher pay rate) the
administrator, many Board members, and the financial / business manager are
diligently at work wasting our tax dollars.
As a taxpayer and sensible adult, it did not make me happy to learn that
during the Christmas Break of 2001 the school director and her husband were
treated by the Board to an overnight stay at the Coeur d' Alene Resort (the Fantasy
in Lights Package for $295.00) as a reward for her work after only four months
on the job. I have copies of the minutes in which Susan Seaman, the
director, thanks the board for "a memorable evening." I have a copy of the flyer
detailing the holiday package chosen, a copy of the payment voucher, and a written
admission on school letterhead from the business manager that the trip was
paid with general education funds. (Without the Freedom of Information Act,
neither you nor I would know anything about this grotesque abuse of state funds.)
The school's treasurer and the school's business manager arranged this little
trip; the school's director happily accepted it. Is this beginning to sound
like the Mayor of Boise? When this information was made public (to the
parents in the school), the parties involved dashed off to the school attorney to
construct a defense for themselves. Apparently they believe that paying back
the money and sending a contrite letter to the prosecutor will absolve them of
liability. I hope this is not the case, and I also hope that our tax dollars
will not be used to pay for their defense.
Perhaps you will be equally cheered to learn that the business manager hired,
supervised and paid her husband for off again on again handyman work around
the school. With one minuted exception, this work was done without the direct
knowledge or oversight of the Board. (By the way, the business manager is also
an ex-officio board member. Can you say ethics problem? I think you can.)
Most of the Board members who presented the school director with the
"appreciation" trip vigorously defend the business manager's hiring of her own husband
as well as his generous rate of pay, despite their ignorance of his
employment. I understand that, under pressure, the Board has agreed not to hire him in
the future. Still, if the terms are as liberal for you as they were for him,
here's what you can expect to be paid for the following odd jobs:
8-19-02: Labor $175, Material $0; Comments: Stow unwanted books & Mat'ls
9-18-02: Labor $200, Material $0; Comments: Expecting visitors from Boise
Spruce up doors, windows, trash, grounds
9-24-02: Labor $75; Materials $5; Comments: Put up tv
9-25: Labor $50; Materials $5; Comments: Repr doorlock H/S
Our ex-handyman is not the only employee who benefits from the board's
selective generosity. The director, Susan Seaman's salary this year will is in
excess of $68,000 (plus benefits and she will also have a lovely travel budget for
her endless jaunts). FYI, there are currently less than 70 students enrolled
in the school. The business manager, Carol Kampenhout, pays herself in excess
of $19.00/hr plus overtime (roughly 40,000 - 45,000/year.) She is
unable/unwilling to tell us how many hours she plans to work.
MSD officials have been courteous and responsive to the concerns of
Renaissance Public Charter School parents. They have lived up to the letter and, in my
opinion, the spirit of the current Charter School law. RPCS has been
routinely audited and has passed the audits. The money in and money out part
balances. But an audit that reveals the kind of information that I am sharing is not
required, and certainly Moscow School District had no way of knowing about it.
Despite these horrific examples, Moscow School District has done a good job
in monitoring financial oversight at the school, but their hands are tied.
The director and Board members of RPCS have repeatedly warned parents and
supporters not to report these problems to the district - and until this summer have
generally stifled dissent. (Okay guys, imagine trying to shut me up by
threats - in your dreams.)
By statue, the only enforcement mechanism the district has is to remove the
charter, thus closing the school. If management and Board membership issues
could be addressed, we could avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Many concerned parents and supporters of Renaissance have spent the summer
asking the Board to address our concerns. We won't be receiving an appreciation
gift for our hard work. Instead, we are characterized by the director, Susan
Seaman, as "well poisoners" and "troublemakers". Some board members prefer to
use obscenities when referring to us, or, dismiss us as liars. ) Seasoned
readers of Vision 20/20 can imagine how deeply hurt I feel by these unkind words :
) Moreover, the RPCS Board is right in their assertion that we can bring
these problems into the light but we can do nothing about them. We have no power
to force board responsiveness, and hence no power to effect changes.
Therefore, I am asking that readers of Vision 20/20 to support legislation
that will increase accountability for Board members of charter schools by having
direct elections from their constituency. I also ask that those readers who
are interested in fiscal responsibility and accountability from our public
schools join with the concerned parents and supporters of Renaissance School and
demand the immediate resignation of Susan Seaman, the school director; Carol
Kampenhout, the Business Manager, Ray Richmond, Board Member and Deborah Lind,
Acting Board President. Please feel free to email me privately with any
questions or documentation of my allegations.
Best,
Rose Huskey
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<HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3D2 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=
=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0">Dear Visionaries,<BR>
<BR>
One aspect of public education rarely discussed on this list is the charter=20=
school. Charter schools are public schools paid for with public monies=
that must meet state standards regarding achievement but which have a great=
deal of latitude in how education is delivered. Locally, Moscow School Dist=
rict "holds" the charters of Renaissance Public Charter School and Moscow Ch=
arter School, but it has no statutory authority to address internal governan=
ce. MSD conducts an annual review of the local charter schools which i=
ncludes audited financial records and educational testing scores, among othe=
r items. Recently, at an MSD Board meeting preliminary approval for th=
e year was granted to Moscow Charter School and was withheld from Renaissanc=
e Charter School.<BR>
<BR>
Charter school board members are not directly elected by the parents of char=
ter school parents or by the tax-payers in the charter school's district. Ra=
ther, they are generally self-selected by school founders and evolve over to=
time to include members nominated and voted for by the sitting board member=
s. A system of self-selection can make for a system rife with ab=
use. Our local legislators have made gallant attempts to sponsor legis=
lation that will correct this glitch, but so far, the state legislature has=20=
not been able to enact a statute that will remedy the situation. <BR>
<BR>
Renaissance Public Charter School, which my grandchildren attended until rec=
ently, is facing a huge deficit. (Approximately $18,000 was overspent=20=
during last year's budget, they have a $9,000 holdback from the state, and t=
hey misappropriated $5,000 from a grant that must be paid back.) This=20=
deficit is the result of very poor financial management, state educational h=
oldbacks, lack of Board oversight, and a declining student population. It is=
not due, which is the excuse offered by director Susan Seaman, to lower tha=
n expected daily attendance, or - and this is a deliberate misrepresentation=
she favors - a planned downsizing because the school buildings are small. <=
BR>
<BR>
RPCS is blessed with an extraordinary faculty and cursed by fiscally irrespo=
nsible administrators, and a historically disinterested board. (Not al=
l board members were disinterested, however they learned very quickly that t=
hey did not hold a voting majority and were simply outvoted when disagreemen=
ts arose. Three of these board members, who represented the Lets-Not-Do-Busi=
ness-As-Usual party have recently resigned.) On the other hand, a long servi=
ng board member, Ray Richmond has proudly summed up his duties by saying "ou=
r job is to rubber stamp the director." He plans to continue on the Bo=
ard until 2005 - at which time he will have served 6 + years.<BR>
<BR>
Unfortunately, while the truly wonderful teachers are working their bums off=
to serve their students and giving Idaho tax payers the best bang for their=
buck imaginable (they are paid well under the local teacher pay rate) the a=
dministrator, many Board members, and the financial / business manager are d=
iligently at work wasting our tax dollars.<BR>
<BR>
As a taxpayer and sensible adult, it did not make me happy to learn that dur=
ing the Christmas Break of 2001 the school director and her husband were tre=
ated by the Board to an overnight stay at the Coeur d' Alene Resort (the Fan=
tasy in Lights Package for $295.00) as a reward for her work after only four=
months on the job. I have copies of the minutes in which Susan Seaman=
, the director, thanks the board for "a memorable evening." I have a c=
opy of the flyer detailing the holiday package chosen, a copy of the payment=
voucher, and a written admission on school letterhead from the business man=
ager that the trip was paid with general education funds. (Without the=
Freedom of Information Act, neither you nor I would know anything about thi=
s grotesque abuse of state funds.)<BR>
<BR>
The school's treasurer and the school's business manager arranged this littl=
e trip; the school's director happily accepted it. Is this beginning t=
o sound like the Mayor of Boise? When this information was made public=
(to the parents in the school), the parties involved dashed off to the scho=
ol attorney to construct a defense for themselves. Apparently they bel=
ieve that paying back the money and sending a contrite letter to the prosecu=
tor will absolve them of liability. I hope this is not the case, and I=
also hope that our tax dollars will not be used to pay for their defense.&n=
bsp; <BR>
<BR>
Perhaps you will be equally cheered to learn that the business manager hired=
, supervised and paid her husband for off again on again handyman work aroun=
d the school. With one minuted exception, this work was done without the dir=
ect knowledge or oversight of the Board. (By the way, the business man=
ager is also an ex-officio board member. Can you say ethics problem?&n=
bsp; I think you can.) Most of the Board members who presented the sch=
ool director with the "appreciation" trip vigorously defend the business man=
ager's hiring of her own husband as well as his generous rate of pay, despit=
e their ignorance of his employment. I understand that, under pr=
essure, the Board has agreed not to hire him in the future. Still, if=20=
the terms are as liberal for you as they were for him, here's what you can e=
xpect to be paid for the following odd jobs:<BR>
<BR>
8-19-02: Labor $175, Material $0; Comments: Stow unwanted books=20=
& Mat'ls<BR>
9-18-02: Labor $200, Material $0; Comments: Expecting visitors from Bo=
ise Spruce up doors, windows, trash, grounds<BR>
9-24-02: Labor $75; Materials $5; Comments: Put up tv<BR>
9-25: Labor $50; Materials $5; Comments: Repr doorlock H/S<BR>
<BR>
Our ex-handyman is not the only employee who benefits from the board's selec=
tive generosity. The director, Susan Seaman's salary this year will is in ex=
cess of $68,000 (plus benefits and she will also have a lovely travel budget=
for her endless jaunts). FYI, there are currently less than 70 studen=
ts enrolled in the school. The business manager, Carol Kampenhout, pay=
s herself in excess of $19.00/hr plus overtime (roughly 40,000 - 45,000/year=
.) She is unable/unwilling to tell us how many hours she plans to work=
.<BR>
<BR>
MSD officials have been courteous and responsive to the concerns of Renaissa=
nce Public Charter School parents. They have lived up to the letter an=
d, in my opinion, the spirit of the current Charter School law. RPCS h=
as been routinely audited and has passed the audits. The money in and money=20=
out part balances. But an audit that reveals the kind of information t=
hat I am sharing is not required, and certainly Moscow School District had n=
o way of knowing about it. Despite these horrific examples, Moscow Sch=
ool District has done a good job in monitoring financial oversight at the sc=
hool, but their hands are tied. The director and Board members of RPCS=
have repeatedly warned parents and supporters not to report these problems=20=
to the district - and until this summer have generally stifled dissent. =
; (Okay guys, imagine trying to shut me up by threats - in your dreams.)<BR>
By statue, the only enforcement mechanism the district has is to remove the=
charter, thus closing the school. If management and Board membership=20=
issues could be addressed, we could avoid throwing the baby out with the bat=
h water.<BR>
<BR>
Many concerned parents and supporters of Renaissance have spent the summer a=
sking the Board to address our concerns. We won't be receiving an appreciati=
on gift for our hard work. Instead, we are characterized by the director, Su=
san Seaman, as "well poisoners" and "troublemakers". Some board member=
s prefer to use obscenities when referring to us, or, dismiss us as liars. )=
Seasoned readers of Vision 20/20 can imagine how deeply hurt I feel by thes=
e unkind words : ) Moreover, the RPCS Board is right in their assertio=
n that we can bring these problems into the light but we can do nothing abou=
t them. We have no power to force board responsiveness, and hence no power t=
o effect changes. <BR>
<BR>
Therefore, I am asking that readers of Vision 20/20 to support legislation t=
hat will increase accountability for Board members of charter schools by hav=
ing direct elections from their constituency. I also ask that those re=
aders who are interested in fiscal responsibility and accountability from ou=
r public schools join with the concerned parents and supporters of Renaissan=
ce School and demand the immediate resignation of Susan Seaman, the school d=
irector; Carol Kampenhout, the Business Manager, Ray Richmond, Board Member=20=
and Deborah Lind, Acting Board President. Please feel free to email me=
privately with any questions or documentation of my allegations.<BR>
Best,<BR>
Rose Huskey<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></HTML>
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