A Monroe charter school barely met the lowest academic requirement set by the state. TheLouisiana Department of Education says the schoolshouldn't be allowed to operate past the end of this school year.
Vision Academy serves about 120 students in grades 7-12 at 1411 Sherrouse St., Monroe. Principal LaToya Jackson opened the school in September 2014 after getting Board of Elementary and Secondary Educationapproval in 2013. Jackson also serves as director of Learning Solutions Inc., the nonprofit that manages the school.
Kunjan Narechania, assistant superintendent of school improvement for the DOE, said Thursday that the sum of all concerns about financial and organizational problems led to the DOE's decision about Vision's future.
Academic struggles
In its recommendation for the initial charter approval in fall 2013,the DOE described the school as targeting students who have dropped out of school, are overage and undercredited and who may have other needs.
Academically, it struggled every year. School Performance Scores (SPS) were:
- 2014-15: 13.1 F
- 2015-16: 30.2 F
- 2016-17: 42.7 F
In 2017, BESEagreed to judge Vision Academy based on an alternative school framework.
"Vision Academyfocuses on serving students that would benefit from alternatives to the regular classroom through a program designed to address dropout prevention and recovery and credit recovery," the DOE wrote in its recommendation at the time.
In April, BESE approved another year of operation, assuming Vision received a satisfactory audit.
The audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017 was issued in June 2018. It was submitted to the Louisiana Legislative Auditorsix months late.
In November, the school's performance outlook remained dire.
The school earned an 18.5 F under the new SPS formula for all schools and would have earned a 20.2 F under the old system. The DOE noted that Vision requires comprehensive intervention for all students and needs urgent intervention for black and economically disadvantaged students.
Aschool must earn at least 50 points out of 100 under an alternate accountability framework in order to be eligible for charter renewal. Vision scored exactly 50 points.
The DOE recommendation reads: "Within the framework, the school receives points for the number of students who earn Carnegie credits during the school year. Students generally earn between six and sevencredits a year when passing a full load of courses. At Vision, 38 students accumulated 10 credits or more in one school year; 18 students accumulated 15 credits or more in one school year."
No organizational oversight
In January 2017, the Louisiana Board of Ethics cited Jackson for knowingly using public funds for a relative's financial gain, which violates state law.
The Board of Ethics noted that Jackson, as CEO of Learning Solutions Inc.,hired Clark Entities LLC to serve as the compliance officer for the school. Bridget Clark, Jackson's sister, is the sole agent or officer of Clark Entities.
Clark Entities was paid $58,000 each year for at least three years in a row, and in February 2016, the LLC agreed to perform data services for state reporting at a rate of$40 per hour.
In March 2016, the board of Learning Solutions Inc. voided all contracts with Clark Entities.
That December, Jackson was ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and signed a document acknowledging that the violations she was accused of were factual.
Vision continued to employ Clark up until December 2018, according to the DOE. BESE policy states that charter schools cannot employ direct relatives of the chief executive officer or board members unless specific requirements are met for the relative to work as a teacher.
Additionally, business filings with the Louisiana Secretary of State show that Jackson is the registered agent for three school-related nonprofits or LLCs.
- Learning Solutions Inc. is not in good standing because of failure to file an annual report. Its last report was filed in 2017, but two changes of officers were filed in 2018.
- Learning Solutions Academy— Preparatory LLC was revoked in November. Its last report was filed in 2016.
- Learning Solutions Fundraiser, a nonprofit, is not in good standing because of failure to file an annual report. It was created in May 2017.
Narechania said three of the school's seven board members live out of state, which is another violation of BESE policy.
Only one of the members filed the required annual disclosure documents that are due in May until prompted by the DOE in October.
A DOE review of 2017-18 board meeting minutes showed that no more than five members attended any meeting, two members never attended and meetings were, on average, less than 17 minutes long.
In 2018, Jackson filed new board bylaws that violate BESE policyas part of an annual review of documents by the DOE. The submitted information would have given Jackson the power to appoint board members and removed the board's ability to fire her. A notice of breach was sent to Vision in October, and compliant bylaws weren't submitted until Jan. 10.
Financial shortcomings
The audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017 specifically stated "No one is assigned the responsibility to monitor the operational matters of the organization."
The auditor recommended that someone be assigned to monitor operations and that the employee should be given a clear set of guidelines for the job.
The audit for that year stated that Jackson received $9,324 for cell phone and other expenses but could only provide documentation for $3,521 in reimbursem*nts and $3,745 in mileage starting in September 2018.
Financial documentation for reimbursem*nts to Jackson submitted to the DOE showed a lack of strong internal controls.
Vision also has missed the Dec. 31 deadline to submit its audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2018.
Narechania said the school has contracted with five financial service firms or professionals since its inception, which is "unusual."
The school hasn't provided the DOE with information for a current business manager that meets BESE requirements., and the first quarter budget for the 2018-19 school year budgeted for a deficit.
A financial contractor that worked with the school in the 2017-18 school year wrote a letter to the LLA alleging:
- Jackson got at least $6,000 in cash advances that had not been repaid;
- the school paid an insurance policy that it didn't own;
- Vision paid for repairs to avehicle it didn't list among its assets;
- and the school used an account totaling $200,000 as collateral for a personal loan and made withdrawalswithout proper accounting.
The LLA has not yet released any information about those allegations, and the DOE stated it will share the information it has collected with the Louisiana Inspector General for review.
Moving forward
BESE'sSchool Innovation and Turnaround Committee will meet Tuesday to determine whether to renew Vision's charter past the initial five-year term. Committee actions will be ratified during the full board meeting Wednesday.
If BESE does not renew the charter, Vision would close at the end of this academic year.
Narechania said the DOE is working with the Monroe City and Ouachita Parish school districts to ensure students and their families will know where and how to enroll in the right schools.
She also said staff will work with students to determine the best possible placements based on student needs and community meetings will be planned so parents can engage in the process.
2018:Vision Academy gets probationary charter extension
2016:How does DOE handle failing charters?
More:One-third of college students are from rural areas. They face specific challenges, and schools are recognizing that
Other local charters
Northeastern Louisiana is home to five BESE-approved charter schools, including:
- D'Arbonne Woods Charter School in Union Parish,
- Delhi Charter in Richland Parish,
- New Vision Learning Academy in Ouachita Parish,
- Northeast Claiborne Charter in Claiborne and Union parishes.
Several other charter schools operate under the approval of local school boards and do not directly reportto BESE.
BESE approves schools' chartersfor initial five-year periods, which are potentially renewed based on performance and the DOE's recommendations.
The charter forNortheast Claiborne Charter was granted to Cajun Butterflies Inc. in 2013, and the school started in 2014.
Northeast Claiborne Charter had a 57.6 D under the new SPS formula in 2018. Under the old formula, it would have scored 64.5 D, and in 2017 it had a59.8 D. The DOE noted in November that comprehensive intervention is required for all students atNortheast Claiborne.
In December, BESE opted to renew the school's charter for an additional three years, based on the DOE's recommendation.
