Revocation of Chavez charter explored; three execs placed on leave
Three top executives of the Cesar Chavez School Network were placed on administrative leave Thursday as the state looked into the possibility of revoking the charters of two of its schools.
Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Hernandez, his wife and Chief Operating Officer Annette Hernandez and Velia Rincon, interim director of the GOAL Online Academy, were placed on leave pending the outcome of two state audits, Dennis Feuerstein, president of the CCSN board, told the Pueblo Chieftain.
That action came the day after the Colorado Charter School Institute board directed its staff to explore the possibility of revoking the charters for Cesar Chavez Academy North in Colorado Springs and the GOAL Academy. CSI was created by the Legislature in 2004 as an independent agency of the Colorado Department of Education to authorize charter schools and promote school choice.
CSI Board President Alex Medler said he expects a staff report early next week on how CSI might end its relationship with the Cesar Chavez School Network.
The network board is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Friday in Pueblo.
Trouble in the Cesar Chavez network bubbled up over the summer and the state ordered audits of its finances and testing practices. At the same time, a power struggle between the network and CSI led this week to a three-day shut down of its online school, confrontations between staff and executives and a flurry of meetings from Pueblo to Denver.
Lee Barratt, director of CSI’s fiscal services, said state officials have “never seen anything like this” after Hernandez and some network staff changed locks on GOAL offices and student computer labs in Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver, and blocked computer access to teachers. Some teachers also reported Wednesday that records were being destroyed.
The Chavez network and its two Pueblo schools are chartered through Pueblo City Schools and a Denver academy is chartered through Denver Public Schools. The online and Colorado Springs schools are chartered through CSI, and the turmoil started this summer after Hernandez and CSI hammered out an agreement to restructure the management of those two operations.
Medler said the agreement included forming independent boards for GOAL and Cesar Chavez Academy North, and CSI intended for the boards to hold the charter with the state. The school boards could then contract with the network for educational services.
But network officials said this week they were re-examining the agreement, and accused CSI and newly named board members of secretly trying to sever ties with the network.
Medler said CSI would like to proceed with the agreement. But if the network refuses to cooperate, it could move to revoke the charters and reissue them independently.
The network holds the lease on the facilities, and manages the budgets and hired staff, so there are numerous issues to resolve.
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