Question:
We are the authorizing agency for our local independent charter school. They have had a lot of personnel changes this last year including director, business manager, and attendance coordinator. I have repeatedly asked for a cash reconciliation since their new business manager started in January, but have never received it. What are my options? Can I withhold their apportionment of in-lieu-tax payments for non-compliance? If so, by what authority can this be done? Any other suggestions? (PS I also wear the County CBO hat, so your answer will serve both the district and county!)Response: A sponsoring LEA cannot withhold in-lieu payments to a charter school as a sanction for failure to submit documents necessary to provide oversight. The Education Code is very clear about the responsibility to make the payments and when, but does not provide any authority to the sponsoring LEA to suspend, withhold or otherwise reduce such payments.
However, you do have the authority under the Education Code to review documents that are part and parcel to the oversight the district is required to provide. Thus, we recommend initially you do the following:
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Does the chartering document require submission of the reconciliations, and any sanctions for failure to comply? We suspect not, but you should confirm.·
Does your LEA have a Memorandum of Understanding with the charter school, and does this document provide such guidance? You may find help here, so we recommend reviewing this document as well.Subject to any guidance found in either of the above we recommend reporting to the school board the failure of the charter school to provide these documents, the impact that has on the district’s ability to provide adequate oversight, and a record of your attempts to collect the reconciliations (as best you can document). The report could contain a recommendation to place the charter school on an "improvement plan" that documents the district’s expectations for the charter for these and any other documents it might be failing to provide, with consequences clearly spelled out should they continue to fail . . . up to and including rescission of the charter. We recommend this only if, in the judgment of the district, the problems are symptomatic of the charter in general and could lead to financial failure and thus place the student’s education at risk. Think of it as an improvement plan for an underperforming employee, the process is virtually no different.
In any event, we strongly recommend reviewing the district’s options with legal counsel in advance of implementing any of the above, as this may be the beginning of a difficult and possibly litigious situation for the district and the charter school. It will be very important that you document everything should the district need to pursue this to termination.
6/8/09
