California Schools Audit Shows Excessive Spending And Overpayments To Chain Of Charter Schools
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California Schools Audit Reveals Excessive Spending in Charter Schools
Summary
Over a year ago, California's Superintendent of Instruction, Jack O’Connell, launched an audit to examine fiscal concerns related to the Options for Youth and Opportunities for Learning (OYO) schools. These independent study charter schools, while privately managed, receive state funding.Article
The OYO charter schools aim to serve students who have dropped out of traditional high schools, currently enrolling around 15,000 students across 40 locations in California. Students primarily complete their work from home, meeting with teachers twice weekly. Despite above-average test scores compared to other alternative high schools in California, only 11% of OYO students graduated in the 2003-2004 school year, according to a Los Angeles Times report. The rest either dropped out, were expelled, or transferred.
Conducted by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, the audit highlighted accounting irregularities, state overpayments, conflicts of interest, instances of nepotism, excessive salaries, and the blending of private and public interests.
Founded and operated by John and Joan Hall, former Hollywood High School teachers, the Halls have cooperated with the audit but disagree with many findings.
Key Audit Findings
1. Accounting Irregularities and Overpayments:
The audit noted that each OYO teacher is counted as 1.92 full-time positions. While OYO spokesperson Stevan Allen defended this as common practice to compensate for extended hours, the auditors found this figure inflated. This miscalculation is responsible for more than half of the $57 million in overpayments.
2. Questionable Expenses:
The audit criticized expenditures such as an $18,000 staff party at Disneyland. Allen justified this as a team-building exercise across their dispersed locations, costing less than $50 per staff member.
3. Conflicts of Interest:
The Halls also own businesses selling materials and services to the schools. The audit scrutinizes their nonprofit-for-profit model?"Options for Youth being nonprofit, Opportunities for Learning being for-profit.
4. Excessive Salaries:
The Halls’ combined $600,000 annual salary was considered excessive by the audit, given the work performed.
5. Nepotism:
$10.8 million in California school funding was used to create Pathways in Education, a charity led by their daughter, Jamie Hall, with little spent on educational purposes so far.
Despite finding no illegal practices, the audit advises California schools to seek recovery of the $57 million overpayment. O’Connell has submitted the report to the state's attorney general for further review and action.
The Halls claim they sought guidance from the California schools on multiple occasions but received no assistance, arguing they did their best to comply with state policies.
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: California Schools Audit Shows Excessive Spending And Overpayments To Chain Of Charter Schools.
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