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Auditors Continue Probe Of Einstein Academy Charter School Finances

Almost one year after county officials requested an audit for Einstein Academy charter school, experts are still investigating “complaints alleging fiscal mismanagement,” officials said.

In a letter dated Oct. 28, 2013, Los Angeles County Superintendent Arturo Delgado stated that a Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team would be requested to investigate the “extraordinary request.”

“We consider this to be an extraordinary request and we are approving the audit based on the following allegations: co-mingling of funds between schools, a conflict of interest based on Government Code 1090 and a violation of Education Code 49010,” according to the letter.

Section 49010 of the Education Code deals with the prohibition of fees charged to pupils for educational activity. The 1090 section indicates a conflict of interest allegation.


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On Thursday, a FCMAT official confirmed it could be “a couple more months” before any material is ready with respect to the audit.

Later that same day, Newhall School District officials were named as the prevailing party in a lawsuit against the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District and Einstein Academy, claiming the two parties  did not abide by the state’s Education Code in opening a school within Newhall’s boundaries, according to court documents.

Here’s a link to the PDF of the tenative ruling in the Newhall School District’s lawsuit Oct. 9, which was amended and filed with the court Tuesday.

Albert Einstein Academy for the Letters, Arts and Sciences officials currently are in the process of re-applying for a charter school petition approval from Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District as a result.

School officials were asked to do so after what Einstein Academy officials called a “procedural error” pormpted a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to vacate the school’s current charter.

The judge set aside the current charter “in light of the Acton-Agua Dulce’s failure to support the bases for invoking the exception to geographic restrictions found in Education Code Section 47605(a)(5),” according to court documents.

Related: County Education Office Questions Acton Agua Dulce Financial Plan

AEALAS has 30 days to submit a new charter, and AADUSD must hold a hearing within 30 days. After the hearing, AADUSD has 60 days to approve or deny a new charter school application.

Einstein officials have expressed optimism about their chances at a new charter.

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Acton-Agua Dulce officials, who are currently being sued by several other school districts with similar claims about charter school approvals, have said they are very pleased with their partnership with Einstein Academy.

County education officials recently put several of the district’s charter petition approvals on hold over concerns about the district’s fiscal management.

Related: County Education Officials Put Acton-Agua Dulce Charter Plans On Hold

Citing “fiscal solvency issues,” LACOE appointed Dick Douglas as a financial adviser June 1 for AADUSD, in a May 30 letter to district board President Mark Distaso.

Acton-Agua Dulce Superintendent Brent Woodard countered that FCMAT officials are financial experts, but they don’t understand what the district is trying to do with charter schools.

In past interviews, Woodard said the district could run a deficit as high as several hundred thousand dollars for this school year, however, the district has set a goal of the state-required 3 percent budget reserve.

“By no means is FCMAT a group of charter experts,” Woodard said in a previous interview. “And by no means am I going to say I agree with them — we respectfully disagree. I think we have a model that’s going to be a success.”

A letter from the Los Angeles County Office of Education to Einstein Academy charter school

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Auditors Continue Probe Of Einstein Academy Charter School Finances

5 comments

  1. Flash… This just in after a year of looking, they still have not found anything to report. However we are going to continue to report on nothing as though it was significant to show we are objective.

    The funny thing about all the accusations and lawsuits (not to mention valuable media attention) that the administrators are doing, is a form of bullying. It doesn’t matter how many times they are told they are wrong, they just continue to make claims. They will not stop until they get their way.

    How is it that on one hand they don’t believe there is a need for another school, and yet think its cost effective to have four districts and all the administrative costs associated with duplication of efforts.

    At some point, the parents and teachers of the districts will say enough is enough and spend our tax dollars on our children and classrooms instead. As more cities, school districts in this state and others continue to adopt the AEA methods and system people understand why the district are so against it. AEA will not change how things are done in the SCV, the teachers and parents will make that happen, just like the parents made AEA happen.

    • The problem is not the academic program Bartman. It is the fraud and poor management by the CEO and Founder. Co-mingling of funds and working on facilities without proper permitting will always cause trouble for any business, especially one receiving state funding. Done the right way and with patience and forward looking, a lot of this current mess could have been dismissed. Case in point, SCVI, another local charter school program has done it the right way with a methodical approach to growth and financial controls in place.

      • The same strong accusations that this article states there are no findings… I think there are legal terms about unfounded comments with the intent to do harm.. Seems like we are there with these charges.

        Another correction to your reply. A charter school does not receive money the same way traditional schools do. They don’t receive any money from the state until they are open and running, unlike traditional schools. There is no chance of an emblem situation with a charter school. Before you make comments you should have some knowledge of how it works. I work with both schools and there are differences, but that’s not part of this article. I support the efforts of both schools. They both fill a need.

        False comments and continual attacks on others by a student would get them kicked out. I think its time for the parents and teachers to do the same to any administration that does the same thing. There is no place for people who deceive others from working with our children.

  2. This article is about a year old. The audit letter is also a few days short of a year old. There seems to be no article update since then. The school is still open and running.

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.