Sequoia Choice Arizona Distance Learning

CHRISTIAN SCHOOL EXPELS CHILDREN OF INQUISITIVE WOMAN. The Arizona Republic 13 Oct 2009

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/10/13/20091013expel1013.html

A Christian school in Glendale expelled the children of a parent who persistently asked questions about how the private school was spending its tuition money.

Lise Hopson had been asking Joy Christian School in Glendale why she paid tuition when a public charter school, Sequoia Choice, was providing the bulk of the private school's academic courses. Charter schools, like all publicly funded schools, are free…

The Republic published an article about the relationship between Joy Christian School and Sequoia Choice on Oct. 2. Before the article was published, state education officials sent copies of parent complaints and state records about the two schools to the state Attorney General's Office for review…

The day before Hopson was quoted in the Republic article, Hopson picked up her daughters as usual after school. The principal handed a letter to Hopson that stated both Hopson and her husband, James, were not "contributing to the harmonious attitude of the school."

In the letter, Kempf called Hopson's actions disruptive and damaging and said they "may have caused financial losses to the school, as well."

Kempf "terminated" the Hopson children's education at Joy Christian School as of 5 p.m. that day and gave the Hopsons a formal notice that as of 5:30 p.m. that day, they were barred from school and church property. The notice allowed the family to visit the "reasonable radius" of the gravesite of Joanne Wright, the children's grandmother, and access to a building leased by the charter school, as long as the Hopsons did not exit their vehicle or talk to anyone on campus.

Hopson's father, Don Wright, said last week that he had his wife's remains removed from a niche on the Joy property.

Wright said a letter he wrote to the pastor also may have led to the children's dismissal. Wright questioned Joy Christian School's relationship with a public charter school. In the letter, Wright said he "expected a refund" of $12,700 in tuition and threatened to take the issue to state officials…

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SCHOOLS UNDER SCRUTINY FOR FINANCING PRIVATE SCHOOL WITH TAXPAYER DOLLARS. The Arizona Republic 02 Oct 2009 http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/10/02/20091002sto-joy1002.html

State officials are raising questions about an arrangement in which a private school in Glendale and a public charter-school operator have teamed up to help finance the private school with taxpayer dollars.

State records obtained by The Arizona Republic show that Sequoia Choice Arizona Distance Learning, a charter-school firm, collected at least $1.9 million in state funds from 2005 through 2008 to teach courses to students of Joy Christian School.

During the same period, Joy was collecting tuition payments from the parents of the same students, many of whom used private-school tuition tax credits to help pay. Tuition ranges from $6,710 to $8,000 this year.

Last month, the partnership between Sequoia and Joy Christian, which is affiliated with Community Church of Joy, a megachurch along Loop 101, caught the attention of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne…

An official with the Attorney General's Office said the office will examine the legality of all aspects of the partnership.

A non-profit tuition organization that provides most of Joy's scholarship money said it will stop providing the tax-credit funds if Joy does not dramatically reduce the number of Sequoia-provided courses.

In 2008, Sequoia taught nearly 60 percent of Joy Christian's courses. Sequoia said that the arrangement started when it was asked to help the students and that Joy does not pay it to provide the classes…

The partnership is another indication of how the state's private-school tuition tax credit has been used in ways not originally intended.

The tax credit gives taxpayers a dollar-for-dollar reduction of their state income tax for donating to private-school tuition scholarship. The money is collected and distributed by non-profit school-tuition organizations.

A series of Republic stories has revealed that the tax-credit law, which is scarcely enforced, has given rise to creative ways to tap state funds. For example, some charter schools, which are privately owned but state-funded, obtained tax-credit money by designating the afternoon half of their all-day kindergarten as a private service…

The partnership between Joy Christian and Sequoia began in the 2004-05 school year when Sequoia began providing Joy a few courses that the private school couldn't afford, such as a high-end math course and a language course, said Ron Neil, manager of Sequoia…

By 2008-09, Neil said, Sequoia attorneys warned the charter school that religion had become too prominent in Sequoia's classrooms at Joy; classroom prayer and crosses displayed in class could raise issues related to separation of church and state, Neil said…

Last school year, state officials began receiving complaints from a few parents who didn't like that they were paying tuition at Joy Christian when most courses were provided by a public charter school.

"When I started to piece things together, what we were paying for really came down to music, PE, art and Bible class," said Joy Christian parent Lise Hopson, who has two children at the school. "It almost feels as if our kids are pretty much at a charter school, with a little bit of biblical emphasis."…

San Antonio Preparatory Academy district (two campuses)

TEA ALLEGES ILLEGALITIES AT DISTRICT: AUDIT ACCUSES CHARTER SCHOOLS' EX-CHIEF OF NEPOTISM, COLLECTING CASH SENT TO FICTITIOUS VENDORS; April 3, 2011: San Antonio Express-News (TX) 

San Antonio Preparatory Academy, a charter school district ordered closed, was run by a superintendent convicted of defrauding a bank, a violation of state law — one of several major allegations of mismanagement found by state auditors.

Most of the audit by the Texas Education Agency alleges wrongdoing by former Superintendent Roi Garcia, son of Raul Garcia, who founded the charter school in 2003 and is chairman of the governing board. Roi Garcia resigned a year ago, the audit said.

Roi Garcia also is accused of misusing state money to pay fictitious vendors and depositing the payments in what the TEA describes as his personal bank account, according to its investigation.

The TEA audit also found that the district had employed 29 family members or members of El Sendero Assembly of God Church, where Raul Garcia serves as pastor. None had been hired according to state-mandated practices, the TEA found…

Roi Garcia gave a contractor a false Social Security number to use so the school could hire him as a vendor, according to a signed statement by the contractor. The number belonged to Garcia's wife, the audit said.

Auditors found doctored vendor invoices on a computer that Roi Garcia submitted for payment to the school. The checks were then deposited into Garcia's bank account.

An employee told auditors she was directed by Roi Garcia to alter a receipt for goods he had purchased for the church that he planned to submit to the school for reimbursement.

Charter school employees were used to perform personal services for Roi Garcia, such as mowing grass and moving exercise equipment.

The district contracted with people who had personal relationships with the Garcias, such as Roi's brother-in-law who was the school's heating and air conditioning repairman. The TEA found he was not licensed to perform that work…

The audit lists at least 14 checks drawn on taxpayer funds to pay vendors that were instead deposited into the bank account controlled by Roi Garcia under the name Pathway Educational Ministry. It was the same account in which he deposited his personal paychecks, the audit found.

The audit states that Roi Garcia's resignation occurred after an anonymous letter, mailed to the TEA and Raul Garcia, said Roi Garcia was convicted of felony bank fraud.

According to federal records, Roi Garcia, listed under his birth name Roy Larry Garcia, pleaded guilty in 1988 to lying on a savings and loan association application. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison and paroled in 1989.

Garcia sent the TEA a form dated Nov. 16, 2009, and included in the audit that stated he was not convicted of a felony. The penalty for lying on the form is perjury…

Raul Garcia maintains the charter district is not related to the church. The TEA sees it differently, as its audit reported that Sendero Academy rents space from his church and San Antonio Preparatory Academy rents from a ministry Roi Garcia runs…

Pocono Mountain Charter School

“Judge appoints lawyer to run Pocono Mountain Charter School.” The Morning Call (Lehigh, PA), 4/19/2013

With trustees warring over control of Pocono Mountain Charter School, a Monroe County judge on Friday placed the future of the embattled institution in the hands of a court-appointed custodian.

The decision came as part of a settlement between factions of the Tobyhanna Township school's board of trustees, who have accused each other of violating state laws and the school's charter since November...

One faction is aligned with Pocono Mountain Charter School founder and Shawnee Tabernacle Church pastor, the Rev. Dennis Bloom, who resigned as the school's CEO in 2010 and has agreed to plead guilty to a tax evasion charge in federal court.

The other faction accuses those board members of taking orders from Bloom, improperly voting to spend public money to pay off his taxes, committing the school to a 15-year lease with his church and rehiring a former principal who lost his certification after pleading guilty to theft...

The Pocono Mountain School Board gave Bloom permission in 2003 to open the charter school with the provision that more than half of the charter's board of trustees could not also be members of his church.

Concern about the school quickly grew, however, and in 2007 lawyers for the district discovered that taxpayers had paid $900,000 to build a school expansion that included a gym floor emblazoned with "SHAWNEE TABERNACLE" that would revert to church ownership when the school's lease expired.

The Pennsylvania auditor general's office found that the church's pastor and his wife held executive positions on the school board, which blurred "the line separating the public charter school from the private religious entity."

In October 2010, the Pocono Mountain School Board revoked the charter school's right to operate as an independent public school after a district investigation found similar problems allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2010.

But that revocation was reversed in September 2011 by the state Charter Appeals Board, headed by state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis. The school's charter remains in limbo, according to a district official.

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“Charter school accused of financial misdeeds.” Pocono Record (PA), 4/18/2013

Pocono Mountain Charter School failed to reconcile its payroll records for six years and made a personal loan to Principal Jeffrey McCreary using taxpayer funds, the Pocono Mountain School District's superintendent charged Wednesday.

The charter school also paid a Christmas bonus to staff despite the U.S. Constitutional separation of church and state, PMSD Superintendent Elizabeth Robison told the board...

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“Pocono Mountain Charter School manager: Ex-principal tried to take payroll papers; constables stopped him.” Pocono Record (PA), 4/16/2013

Former Pocono Mountain Charter School Principal Jeffrey McCreary tried to smuggle payroll records from the school and had to be escorted off the property by constables Monday, according to the school's operations manager.

The incident marks the latest escalation in tensions between factions in the K-12 school, which has a $4 million budget funded by taxpayers.

School board President Lisa Bansa called on four Pennsylvania state constables Sunday to prevent McCreary from entering the school, following a court ruling last week that returned the one-time principal's supporters to the school's board of trustees.

McCreary was fired as the school's principal late last month after losing his legal fight to retain his principal's certification.

McCreary lost his certification after pleading guilty to misdemeanor theft charges in connection with accusations that he stole almost $90,000 from a Scranton School District administrator fund while working as a principal there...

Two opposing groups within the school board have fought over control of the school. The three members reinstated by the board tried hiring McCreary as the director of operations to avert the license deficiency and supported paying indicted school founder the Rev. Dennis Bloom's $77,000 tax bill from school accounts.

Bloom has been charged by the federal government with tax fraud, although it's unclear what — if any — connection the tax case might have to the charter school.

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“Pocono Mountain Charter School fight cost taxpayers $650K.” Pocono Record (PA), 3/13/2012

Taxpayers in Pocono Mountain School District have footed the bill for almost $650,000 in legal fees in the battle between the district and Pocono Mountain Charter School.

Figures released recently by both sides show $648,544 in legal fees since 2008 — when the district started charter revocation proceedings against the school.

Figures from the charter school show the school spent about $366,000 in legal fees and related costs, while the district said it has spent about $283,000.

The amounts include legal fees incurred for the local revocation hearings, the appeal hearings with the state and a federal discrimination lawsuit brought by the charter school against the district.

The amounts do not include regular services by the respective legal teams outside of the revocation fight.

Both law firms for the respective sides — King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul of Bethlehem for the district and Anderson, Converse & Fennick in York for the charter school — also provide contracted legal work outside of the revocation process...

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“Auditor general says charter school violated state law; Preliminary state audit report finds Pocono Mountain Charter School had 'improper entanglements' with Tobyhanna church.” The Morning Call (PA), 1/6/2012 

A Monroe County charter school has violated the state charter school law by having "improper entanglements" with a church run by the school's founder, according to a preliminary report issued by the state auditor general's office.

The report, obtained by The Morning Call, says the Pocono Mountain Charter School in Tobyhanna also may have illegally diverted taxpayer money to adjacent Shawnee Tabernacle Church. It also may have improperly received $87,101 from the state in rental reimbursements for its building lease agreement with the church.

The report also says the charter school may have violated the state Ethics Act rule against conflict of interest in other dealings with the church, which is run by the Rev. Dennis Bloom.

The Pocono Mountain School Board in October 2010 revoked the charter school's right to operate as an independent public school after a district investigation found similar problems allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2010.

But that revocation was reversed in September by the state Charter Appeals Board, chaired by state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis...

The attorney general's preliminary report comes as Pocono Mountain officials are assessing the Charter Appeals Board ruling...

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“Embattled Pocono Mtn. Charter School hires administrator accused of theft in Scranton.” The (Scranton) Times-Tribune (PA), 8/14/2011

A former Scranton principal facing a charge for stealing money from a principals' fund has been hired to lead Pocono Mountain Charter School in Tobyhanna.

Jeffrey McCreary, who resigned from his job at McNichols Plaza Elementary last year, is now principal at the embattled charter school.

McCreary, 49, of South Abington Township, Lackawanna County, was charged last month with theft by failure to make required disposition of funds after he allegedly stole $87,000 from the Scranton Association of Administrators and Supervisors to fuel a gambling addiction...

The charter school, which is fighting to keep its charter while Pocono Mountain School District attempts to revoke it, hired McCreary in July, said Lisa Bansa, president of the school's board.

Bansa said the board is aware of the allegations against McCreary and that the "lawyers are handling it."...

The charter school, which is awaiting a decision on its future from the state's Charter Appeal Board, has had a strained relationship with the Pocono Mountain School District...

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JUDGE DISMISSES POCONO MOUNTAIN CHARTER SCHOOL LAWSUIT. Scranton Times-Tribune (PA) 01 Dec 2010 

TOBYHANNA - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a charter school against the Pocono Mountain School District.

The Pocono Mountain Charter School claimed the school district's attempt to revoke its charter was motivated by racial and religious discrimination. The district's school board voted to revoke the charter in October.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo has dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the school is a "political subdivision" and did not have standing to sue the district under First Amendment and equal protection claims. The civil rights and defamation claims were also dismissed.

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POCONO MOUNTAIN PULLS CHARTER FOR SCHOOL; CLASSES TO CONTINUE IN TOBYHANNA WHILE BOARD'S DECISION IS APPEALED, Pocono (PA) Record (PA) 07 Oct 2010

The future of Pocono Mountain Charter School was dealt a serious blow when its charter was revoked by the board of directors of the Pocono Mountain School District on Wednesday night.

But the charter school vowed to appeal the decision to the state, and it will remain open until a ruling is rendered.

No comments from the audience preceded the unanimous school board vote to yank the charter of the 300-plus students K-12 school in Tobyhanna. The decision to revoke the charter centered largely on a church-state issue.

"The school board has reached the inescapable conclusion that Pocono Mountain Charter School is significantly and improperly entangled with Shawnee Tabernacle Church," said Jeffrey Litts, the attorney who presided as the hearing officer over 16 public hearings on the matter, as he read from a prepared statement at the start of Wednesday's meeting.

The church and the charter school are housed in the same building and share a common entrance. The Rev. Dennis Bloom serves as pastor of the church and CEO of the charter school…

Facts that compelled the board to reach its conclusion, as recounted by Litts, centered on using public money to benefit the church in several ways:

• $900,000 in taxpayer money to make improvements to the church property
• $920,000 in annual rent paid to the church by the charter school
• Nearly $125,000 to build a gymnasium floor with the name of the church painted on the floor and used by church groups after hours; and
• $39,000 to install an electronic message board featuring the name of the church that ran religious messages.

The charter school's spokesman said the district still had not proven its case, and that the charter school was not surprised that the school board reached the decision it did.

"We don't think this has been fair from the beginning," said Ken Kilpatrick.

He added that the charter school will appeal the board's decision to the Charter Appeals Board. The appeals board, a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, would review the record from the hearings. It typically rules within a matter of months…

The future of the school also may lie elsewhere. Bloom told the Eastern Poconos Community News that the school was preparing an application to open a school in the East Stroudsburg Area School District, where he has identified five possible sites. He is eyeing a fall 2011 opening…