Another Charter Administrator Convicted. A personal Fiefdom

A personal fiefdom.  It is good to be queen until it isn't.

Where was the oversight, a weak handpicked board and part time treasurer to rubber stamp.

I suspect that getting involved in these charter schools was a very bad career move.  Leaves  Stephanie Millard in a pretty bad position.  Not sure how many other charters she was acting treasurer for but I suspect any and know for sure that one of them was Ohio Connections Academy.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/17/former-charter-school-leader-gets-plea-deal/17438269/

A former superintendent accused of using her charter school as her "personal feifdom" is now a convicted felon, marking the latest blemish for charter schools in this region and statewide.

Lisa Hamm, who ran the Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy, the region's largest charter school, cut a deal with prosecutors last week. She pleaded guilty Oct. 8 to three of 26 felony counts against her. The remaining charges, including multiple counts of theft in office and tampering with evidence, were dismissed.

Hamm, who court documents claim ran the school as her "personal fiefdom," could get up to 18 months in prison on the charges of unauthorized use of property. Probation is also an option. She agreed to repay $75,000 to the school. She's scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 24 by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge John West.

Hamm of Fairfield, and former treasurer Stephanie Millard, of Walnut Hills, were accused of stealing or misusing $148,000 in taxpayer money that should have gone to educating the 950 students at Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy. The court documents allege Hamm instead used the money to pay for extravagant trips, plays, concerts, luggage, spa visits, jewelry veterinary care and other personal uses.

The charges in the Oct. 8 plea agreement involved a trip to San Diego that ended up costing more than $20,000, and trips to Orlando and to see Oprah Winfrey. Hamm had said the trips were school-related.

Charter schools are public schools that are independently run. There are about three dozen in Southwest Ohio. Some are high-performing and well-run. But as a group they're often criticized for lax accountability and mediocre academics. Several local charter schools have closed over the years due to financial problems and academic issues. Some cases resulted in criminal charges.

The state has been cracking down on charter schools via stringent audits and increased scrutiny of their sponsoring organizations. Charter school accountability has become a political issue, as Democrats accuse Republican leadership of not doing enough to improve it.

In the most recent example the Concept chain of charter schools, which includes the Horizon Science Academy in Bond Hill, came under investigation by the FBI and the Ohio Department of Education after a string of allegations including improper use of technology money and testing irregularities.

By the numbers

Cui Bono (who profits)

Sad but true...

$84 million that the state auditor has uncovered.  Call me a skeptic but this is probably just a portion of the money that is missappropriated.  There are some clever folks (and some that are not) out there.  "Figures do not lie but liers figure."

Charter school treasurer Carl Shye, who worked with schools here and across the state, agreed to repay much of the $800,000 in findings against him when he pleaded guilty last year to embezzlement in federal court. Area charter school CEO William Peterson agreed to pay $275,000 of the $857,963 in findings against him when he pleaded guilty this month in Cuyahoga County court to unlawful interest in a public contract.

Officials with the Auditor of State’s office said they are working together to do better.

“Of course we want to see as much as can be collected recovered,” said Carrie Bartunek, spokeswoman for the state auditor’s office.

Among the findings issued in 2013:

Richard Allen Academy
Issued: Nov. 6 and Feb. 28
Finding amount: $2.2 million
The most recent audits of the chain of charter schools with locations in Dayton and Hamilton have brought the total amount of findings against the group to $2.2 million. The schools are challenging the findings in court, arguing the state auditor is misreading the school’s contract with its management company, which the audits say was over-paid.

General Chappie James Leadership Academy
Released: Aug. 29
Finding amount: $4,335
A finding for recovery was issued for $4,335 against school founder Kecia Williams and Tracy Jarvis for undocumented debit card purchases.

Cincinnati College and Preparatory Academy
Release date: June 18
Finding amount: $520,000
Professional football season tickets, trips to the theater, travel expenses and cocktails are just a few of the nearly $520,000 in items for which taxpayers picked up the tab, according to the special audit of the Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy (CCPA). The findings in this audit led to the indictments of former Superintendent Lisa Hamm and former Treasurer Stephanie Millard.

Cleveland Academy of Scholarship Technology and Leadership Enterprise
Release date: April 23
Finding amount: $1.3 million
Employees’ allegedly illegal relationships with vendors and shoddy bookkeeping led to more than $1.3 million in findings for recovery issued in the special audit of the Cleveland Academy of Scholarship, Technology, and Leadership Enterprise (CASTLE). The school was managed by William Peterson of Dayton, who pleaded guilty last week to having in unlawful interest in a public contract.

By the numbers

• Total amount of findings issued since 2001: $84,568,474
• Amount uncollected: $70,669,366
• Amount uncollectible but to statute of limitations: $32,059,920
• Amount ‘virtually uncollectible’ owed by charter schools: $24,733,164.51
• Amount actively being collected by Ohio Attorney General: $10,380,740.02

Source: Ohio Auditor of State, Ohio Attorney General