Xavier Charter School

“Xavier Charter School Principal Resigns.” Twin Falls Times-News (ID),

TWIN FALLS • Xavier Charter School announced Thursday that Principal Everett Bomgardner has resigned from his position.

The school’s board met Wednesday night during a closed meeting to accept his resignation, Board President Debbi Burr said.

Administrative duties for the 665-student Twin Falls charter school will continue to be handled by hired contractors Murphey Consulting, and the selection process for a new principal will begin soon.

The board placed Bomgardner on paid administrative leave in early September. Later that month, it recommended his firing due to “multiple violations of policies and procedures.”...

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CHARTER SCHOOL MAY BREAK CONTRACT WITH MANAGEMENT COMPANY; April 22, 2011; Times-News (Twin Falls, ID) 

With several parents and students asking them to step down, Xavier Charter School trustees hinted Wednesday that they may move to bring the Twin Falls school’s finances under local control.

During a nearly two-hour board meeting that included a half-hour of audience comments, Xavier trustees reviewed potential changes to their current bylaws, and future financial decisions involving the school’s private management company, Paragon Schools. The meeting comes in a tumultuous year that saw Xavier co-founder and former Principal Cindy Fulcher be fired Monday, and trustees and teachers question Paragon’s handling of state funding the school receives…

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TRUSTEE QUESTIONS CHARTER SCHOOL'S FINANCES; February 12, 2011; KTVB.com (Twin Falls, ID)

TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- A board trustee at Xavier Charter School in south-central Idaho says the school can't account for nearly $330,000 in taxpayer money.

Joan Hurlock says the school's Utah-based management company, Paragon, failed to produce documents she requested concerning the 4-year-old school's finances.

The Times-News reports that Hurlock disclosed the information Thursday at a school board meeting.

Hurlock says statements she received show Paragon took in $788,000 from the Idaho State Department of Education from October to November 2010 and deposited it into an account the board can't view. She says only about $460,000 left the account during the same time.

Paragon owner Brandon Fairbanks says the company can account for the money and that Hurlock should have come to him first before bringing her concerns to the board.

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XAVIER CHARTER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL SUES TO KEEP JOB; October 23, 2010, Times-News (Twin Falls, ID) 

A founder of Xavier Charter School is fighting to keep her job as the Twin Falls school’s principal.

Cindy Fulcher, who in August was placed on leave as Xavier’s principal, filed suit in Twin Falls County on Oct. 8, accusing the school’s board of trustees of violating Idaho laws by conspiring to fire her. Specifically, Fulcher claims that board members “exhibited bias and prejudice against (her) so that the trustee or trustees cannot fairly decide the issues relating to (her) contract.”

Based on the lawsuit and numerous submitted affidavits, an apparent power struggle between Fulcher and Xavier’s board of trustees — with Chairman Jeff Bulkley singled out in most of the accusations — has simmered for months. The situation came to a head at the school board’s Aug. 24 meeting, when trustees unanimously voted to place Fulcher on leave…

Burley attorney John A. Bradley is representing Fulcher. He said Fulcher wants the current board removed from presiding over all decisions regarding her contract, as it has allegedly violated her right to due process. According to Idaho code, a public school board “shall not prejudice, predetermine, or decide on any allegation regarding the suspension, probation, and/or discharge of a principal prior to the respective hearing.” Bradley said that Fulcher wants an independent three-party panel to review her performance and decide her fate as Xavier’s principal…

Multiple employees of Xavier submitted sworn affidavits alleging that board members openly discussed Fulcher’s employment status prior to her being placed on leave…

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XAVIER FOUND IN VIOLATION OF STATE POLICY- AGENCY CHASTISES CHARTER SCHOOL OVER SPECIAL-NEEDS KIDS; August 20, 2007 Twin Falls Times-News (ID) 

TWIN FALLS - Two weeks before it opens, a local charter school has been found in noncompliance with two state policies on enrolling and transferring special-needs students.

Following several weeks of investigation, the Idaho State Department of Education found that Xavier staff interfered with the school's enrollment process and failed to follow proper procedures for transferring students with special needs to other schools, according to a letter sent to school officials, the parent who made the complaint and the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.

The school came "perilously close to" coercing Twin Falls resident Heidi Conner into withdrawing her children, at least one of whom has special needs. Xavier staff decided to transport Conner's child to another school without consulting the child's individualized education plan team or, at the very least, notifying Conner in writing, the letter said.

"While their enrollment was not in fact denied, the actions of Xavier staff towards actively discouraging (Conner) cannot be condoned," dispute resolution coordinator Bill Elvey wrote in the letter sent out Aug. 16…