Commission cites problems at Kau charter school

The Public Charter School Commission has voted to put Ka‘u Learning Academy on notice about possible revocation of its charter, citing a range of problems including financial irregularities, enrollment discrepancies and testing procedures.

The charter school in Naalehu, on Hawaii island, is in its third year of operation and has about 93 students in grades three through seven. The commission voted late Thursday to issue a new “notice of prospect of revocation,” which is the first step toward possibly revoking the school’s charter, or contract with the state.

Ka‘u Learning Academy’s governing board has recruited new members and made leadership changes, but the commission questions whether even that was done properly.

“We are not clear yet on whether or not the board has been created properly,” Commission Chairwoman Catherine Payne said after the commission’s meeting Thursday afternoon. “We have such serious concerns overall, and they really must address all of these.”

The commission based its notice on the following concerns:

>> Financial and operational irregularities

>> Enrollment discrepancies

>> Member composition and procedural concerns regarding assembling the governing board

>> Adherence to school policies and procedures

>> Fidelity to Department of Education testing procedures and protocols

>> Potential violations of the charter contract

The commission previously had issued a notice of prospect of revocation Nov. 29. It was amended and restated Dec. 15, and the commissioners also voted to withhold funding from the school except money necessary for its orderly operation.

That notice was based on the results of an audit that flagged a “lack of internal financial controls” and possible violations of labor regulations. The school’s founding director, Kathryn Tydlacka, who is now on medical leave, called those problems minor and said they amounted to clerical errors.

Commissioners rescinded their previous notice Thursday before voting to issue the newer, more specific version. The school’s governing board has 30 days to respond.

“By doing this, rescinding the old notice and issuing this new one with concerns that have come up since, it kind of restarts the clock in terms of your ability to respond to that and put corrective action in place,” Commissioner John Kim told the school’s leaders at the meeting Thursday.

Ka‘u Learning Academy’s new board president, Doug Flaherty, and treasurer, Jack Richard, attended the meeting and vowed to take action to straighten things out.

“Just so you know, from us as a new board, you guys have checks and balances that you have to follow, and we understand that,” Richard said. “We are not here to fight it. We are here inheriting this mess, and we plan on getting it corrected. And I appreciate the way you did this, and it will give us more time.”

At its April 2 meeting, Ka‘u Learning Academy’s governing board appointed Josh DeWeerd as acting director for the school. It also accepted the resignation of Tydlacka from the governing board. She had been a member of that board at the same time as running the school.

Flaherty assured the commission that the board would commit its full resources to resolve the issues raised by the commission.

“Unfortunately, we found a lot of issues, serious ones,” Flaherty said. “We will continue to work through those as quickly as we can. Hopefully, as this process moves forward, we will have resolved every­thing that exists out there right now, including a variety of personnel problems.”

Commissioners urged the school’s leadership to center all its activities on the best interests of the students and to keep families and the community informed. Mitch D’Olier said he was sorry to see the extent of the problems at the school but was glad that “what appears to be a responsible group of people has emerged to lead the school, and I wish them well.”

“We couldn’t not take action,” he said after the meeting. “We need to be responsible and drop the hammer when we need to drop the hammer.”