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ASTA
under fire by district
Superintendent
ordered to cure alleged fiscal problems
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
PINE VALLEY —
Though under fire by Mountain Empire Unified
School District Superintendent Patrick Judd, the
Applied Science and Technology Academy will
continue to operate in the wake of a May 11
board meeting where Judd accused the school of
fiscal and academic mismanagement.
Judd presented board members with a request for the revocation of the school’s
charter at its mandated annual review.
MEUSD Superintendent Patrick Judd recently sent a letter to ASTA regarding various problems at the school.
"The district is obligated to provide oversight to the charter school… Moreover, as Superintendent, I have additional duties and obligations with respect to oversight," states the letter from Judd to ASTA director Dianne Yops. "This letter is to inform you of certain perceived deficiencies in the charter school operation, and to clarify the expectations of the district in certain regards."
The letter defines several problems at ASTA that will need to be addressed but, unfortunately, was sent to Yops while she was out on leave due to an injury.
ASTA parents and teachers have teamed up to hire an attorney: Lisa Corr of Spector, Middleton, Young & Minney, LLP, a firm that represents approximately half of the charter schools in California.
Money is a major issue in the current MEUSD struggle with the district already tightening its budget to save money.
"The district is concerned that the budgeting procedures currently in place at the charter school may end in a negative ending balance. This is not acceptable practice," states Judd’s letter. "The charter school is not permitted to spend more money than is available."
The district, as the chartering authority, has the power to revoke a charter in circumstances of fiscal mismanagement.
"The district Superintendent will annually develop a balanced operating budget to be approved by the MEUSD board of trustees," states a response letter from ASTA describing the terms of the school’s charter. "The district will be responsible for payroll, insurance, certificated contracts, secretarial contracts and other fiscal matters."
"We have come to the Superintendent, Patrick Judd, financial manager, Max Robinson, and the board requesting to be put on the agenda in regards to fiscal matters such as a clear budget for current and future years," states the ASTA letter. "Only to be denied again and again to be put on the agenda."
Also at issue is the district fiscal oversight obligation: "The approved charter for ASTA, as drafted by the district, created a very ‘dependent’ charter. Specifically, the Charter School was not given any independent authority and in all of its operations is governed by the district board of trustees, including all financial management," states a letter from the ASTA attorneys to the district. "The district is the sole financial manager of the charter school. Accordingly, not only can the charter school not cure the alleged deficiencies without the assistance of the district, but if the deficiencies are true, the district is in fact accusing itself of fiscal mismanagement."
Another major allegation on the list has to do with student course accreditation and certificated teachers. The education code has specific provisions about the required credentials of teachers. Judd alleges in his letter that the provisions are not being followed.
"We have been in contact with the UC ‘A’ to ‘G’ department. Until a school is pre-qualified for ‘A’ to ‘G’, determination is made by hand by reviewing the class syllabus. Other colleges and universities have different ways of determining credits."
ASTA representatives will present a letter from a student who has recently been accepted at UCLA.
The allegations made in the superintendent’s letter are proving suspicious to some involved as the timing coincides with the ASTA Director Dianne Yops’ absence on worker’s compensation for a severe injury to her ankle and foot.
"The district is asking for the charter school staff to respond in approximately 20 days, without the assistance of their administrator," states the letter from Corr.
According to response letter from district counsel, "in the charter director’s absence, Superintendent Patrick Judd is the acting charter school director."
The irony of the accusing party being responsible for aswering/curing allegations was not lost on Corr, who wrote: "Please explain to me what involvement the Superintendent will have as the acting charter school director in answering the allegations that he sent to the charter school."
The ASTA issue has been a major topic of discussion among parents and students this year and, for many, the Wednesday meeting is the outcome of many months of argument and rumor in the district.
Upon discovering that ASTA had representation, the school district’s attorney tried to remove Corr:
"The purpose of this letter is to provide your office notice that the district has not authorized the charter school to hire legal counsel for this matter, causing your status as legal counsel to be questionable," states the letter from Stefanie Vaudreuil, of Parham & Rajcic, representing the district.
Corr responded that she had been hired by the parents and the staff of the charter school, not the district or charter school itself.
After listening to a lengthy
discussion, the board voted to place Judd in charge of curing
the alleged violations. The Alpine Sun will publish a
full report on the school board meeting in next week’s edition.
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