Special report by state levels criticisms at TCA

Complaints that The Classical Academy's insular community created an environment where racism and religious intolerance were allowed to go unchecked raises questions about whether the charter school is welcoming to all students, according to a report released Friday.

The report to the Colorado Department of Education, triggered by parents' complaints, also found fault with the school's accounting practices, noted possible conflicts of interest with administrators who run a charter-school consulting business on the side and said the school failed to properly respond to allegations of sexual and physical assaults and bullying.

It concluded that while the school has high academic achievement, the "investigation revealed major areas of concern about management, safety and security of students."

TCA President Mark Hyatt said he welcomed the scrutiny because outside recommendations can help make the school better.

"I think there are some very positive things that can come out of this," Hyatt said. "The fact that we've already started some of these things confirms that we're on the right track."

The CDE paid independent consultant James Sauls, of Colorado Springs, $9,500 to look into allegations made against the TCA by parents who said they turned to the state because the school and Academy School District 20 ignored their issues. TCA is a D-20 charter school with about 2,900 students on three campuses.

Hyatt said the school recently had several workshops and speakers on character and inclusiveness and just this week had a training session with Safe 2 Tell on reporting procedures. Safe 2 Tell is a statewide hotline where people can anonymously report threatening behavior.

Hyatt also said that he believes administrators and the board do a good job of listening to parents' concerns but that sometimes parents don't like the outcome of those discussions.

But parent Lisa Reece said the school sometimes ignores issues - and the law. She reported in October 2005 that her then-10-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted at the elementary school.

After repeated inquiries with TCA's elementary school principal about what was being done, Reece said she went to a D-20 administrator in April 2006 when she learned it had not been reported to the police.

Friday's report said TCA failed to follow procedures regarding reports of sexual and physical assaults. In the Reece case, the report said, there was no evidence that an in-house investigation had been conducted, as school officials claimed. The police investigation was inconclusive, the report said.

"I definitely feel vindicated," Reece said Friday. "I feel my daughter has been vindicated.

The principal was so worried about TCA's image that she jeopardized my daughter's safety."

Hyatt said the principal and a school psychologist investigated the assault and determined that no crime had been committed, so they didn't report it to police.

Reece said her daughter was questioned about a fight, but not about the sexual assault until police were notified six months later. Besides, she said, it's the school's duty to report alleged crimes, not to determine if they happened.

She said she expects D-20 to ensure that school staff members understand mandatory reporting procedures.

D-20 officials declined to discuss specifics but said they will meet a May 22 deadline to submit a written report to the CDE on how inadequacies will be addressed.

As part of its regular accreditation requirements, it must also assure the state by June 1 that there is a "safe learning environment" at all of its schools, including TCA, said spokeswoman Nanette Anderson.

She said the D-20 board got legal advice on the report during an executive session at its regular meeting Thursday.

TCA board President Matt Carpenter said board members will discuss the report at a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday. He said he wanted a chance to study the recommendations before specifically addressing them, but he noted that TCA has an annual audit and has always had a "clean bill of health."

"I want to get more information on any possible financial improprieties because we never want that to happen," he said. "We take our financial stewardship as one of our top priorities as a board."

He and Hyatt said they both were aware that chief financial officer Doug Hering and high school principal Peter Hilts started a charter-school consulting business, Advantage Insights Consulting Network LLC, in December 2007.

The report questioned whether TCA should have paid for their travel to charter school conferences that might have benefited their business.

Hyatt said he sent them to conferences for the benefit of TCA and it was appropriate for the school to pay. He said sometimes he and other staff attend such conferences as well.

The report also said the two had used school equipment to print business cards, but spokeswoman Susan Tillotson said TCA was reimbursed within the last month for those costs. She didn't know when the cards were printed.

Some report recommendations

• To D-20: Provide more oversight in the areas of concern with TCA and send an observer to TCA board meetings
• To D-20: Include TCA in professional development opportunities
• To TCA: Provide more training to parents, teachers and administrators on character education
• To TCA: Conduct workshops and seminars for faculty and parent volunteers on effective communication
• To TCA: Ensure sufficient playground monitoring
• To TCA: Train staff in mandatory reporting procedures
• To TCA: Work harder to hire minority teachers and staff;
• To TCA board: Use a more transparent voting system to ensure its actions are above suspicion
• To TCA: Hire a forensic accounting firm to conduct an in-depth audit.