Ex-leader of charter school accused of theft

Jeff Piontek, who was fired as principal of Hawaii Technology Academy nearly two years ago, is facing charges of stealing and laundering more than $100,000 in funds from the charter school.

Piontek, 47, was arrested in Santa Mon­ica, Calif., on Monday and booked into the Los Angeles County Jail where he remains in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to Donna Diaz, deputy U.S. marshal with the Hawaii Fugitive Task Force. A date for a court hearing to extradite him to Hawaii has not been set.

Piontek headed the largely online school for three years until he was terminated in December 2011 after allegations of misuse of public funds. The state attorney general’s office issued a warrant for his arrest Oct. 11, for two counts of first-degree theft and three counts of second-degree theft.

Viewed as an authority in online education, Piontek took numerous trips to speak at conferences while he was principal, as far away as London and Doha, Qatar. He is accused of using public funds for his personal benefit.

"U.S. Marshal and Hawaii State Attorney General Task Force officers tracked Pion­tek to both New York and California where task force members in both locations ran down leads in hopes of apprehending the fugitive," the U.S. Marshals Service announced Tuesday. He was taken into custody without incident at a private home.

The theft charges involve use of a credit card and a debit card, payment of cellphone bills and purchase of gift cards, as well as reimbursements he made to himself, Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young said Tuesday.

After losing his job, Pion­tek maintained a website where he posted articles on Internet learning and other educational topics as recently as last month.

Hawaii Technology Academy opened in a commercial building in Wai­pahu in 2008 and quickly became the state’s fastest-growing charter school. It now has 1,245 students statewide in grades kindergarten through 12.

They do most of their course work online at home, with help from parents who act as "learning coaches" as well as teachers accessible via the Web and phone. Students come into the learning center two days a week for classes and to meet with teachers.

In late 2011 an auditor raised questions about the school’s financial oversight and accounting controls, saying that "abuse, waste or fraud" was likely. The school’s board took action right away, firing the principal and focusing on getting the school’s financial house in order. Allegations of wrongdoing were referred to the state attorney general.

The school’s director of advancement, Shannon Cleary, stressed Tuesday that Piontek’s arrest "in no way reflects on HTA and its hardworking staff today."

"While we were sad to hear the news, we want to assure the community that HTA is in excellent shape today and is being guided by a talented and respected staff and managed by a governing board that holds respected positions throughout our community," Cleary said.

The state’s 32 charter schools are publicly funded but overseen by their own governing boards rather than the state Board of Education. They are supposed to be laboratories of innovation in education.

The academy has been audited quarterly for the last 20 months and has shown proof of fiduciary and ethical responsibility, Cleary said. It is one of a handful of Hawaii charter schools in full compliance with all mandated reporting to the Charter School Commission and Department of Education for the 2012-13 school year, she added.

"The school is continuing to grow both in terms of our enrollment on all islands and also in terms of our academic achievement," said Leigh Fitzgerald, the school’s executive director.