Baxter Academy of Technology and Science




PORTLAND — Portland’s first charter school and its founder, who was fired by the board of directors, have settled their legal disputes, both parties announced Tuesday...

The school and Jaques voluntarily dismissed the legal dispute with prejudice, which means both parties agree not to file any further claims associated with the dispute...


The board of directors fired Jaques, who was serving as executive director, in March, citing a pattern of financial mismanagement. Jaques countersued, claiming defamation, and sought punitive damages.

Jaques said the board fired him because a donor insisted on it. The donor confirmed that he wouldn't have made a $250,000 donation if Jaques had remained as executive director...

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Earlier this month, Daniel Amory admitted to the Portland Press Herald he and his organization, the Jebediah Foundation, would not provide any more funding to the academy as long as Jaques was in charge. Chris Jones — a former member of Baxter Academy’s advisory board, a group of subject-matter experts lined up to help the school’s governing board of directors — said in a written statement submitted to the commission that, “Almost the entire advisory board resigned overnight” after the dismissal of Jaques. “Looking at Baxter in the present time, most of the founders are all gone; too ashamed to work with a school that has become corrupt,” Jones wrote, in part. “The only people left at the school are the board of directors. The very people who were bought out and told to remove John Jaques. … The vision that the school has now is shrouded in lies and money.

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...Board members also told the commission that any lawsuits that might come of this dispute with Jaques will be covered by insurance and should not interfere with the academic program...

But there were others who were critical of Baxter's board. The charter commission received letters from two former members of the school's advisory board, and heard from a third. All were concerned that Jaques was fired at the wishes of a donor, not because he was a poor manager. Former advisory board member Carl Hesselbart said he didn't even realize he was no longer on the advisory board because he hadn't heard anything from the current board of directors. Hesselbart said, "because of everything that's happened, we don't believe that this was the school we were supporting."

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