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Language Academy's future in jeopardy

Citing finances as a reason, school superintendent Heather Fiorentino says her staff might call for closing the school after a meeting today.

By MARY SPICUZZA
Published September 29, 2006

The Language Academy in New Port Richey has declared a financial emergency and may be told to shut down.

The charter school had a net deficit of about $156,000 as of June 30 and was facing "deteriorating financial conditions," according to an Aug. 14 letter from accountants from Lewis, Birch and Ricardo.

Pasco County school superintendent Heather Fiorentino said the district's staff may recommend that the school close after a 1 p.m. meeting today with academy officials.

But principal Joyce Nunn insisted the school has every intention of remaining open.

"The staff and I are committed to the education of children in this school and we have no intention of closing," Nunn said Thursday afternoon.

But Fiorentino said that, in addition to the school's deficit, the Language Academy was overpaid about $47,000 by the district. The charter school had expected having more than 100 students this school year. Instead, it has just over 70.

Fiorentino said the district's staff had tried to meet with the Language Academy board last week, but the charter school's board members couldn't make it.

"I'm very concerned that they don't see this as a priority," Fiorentino said.

The Pasco County School Board is set to take action on the charter school's financial situation at its Tuesday morning meeting. The staff will decide what action it will recommend after the Friday meeting with the charter school's officials.

However, Nunn said the school district had changed previous meeting times, making it difficult for board members to attend. Still, she and some board members, as well as some parents, plan to attend today's meeting.

Nunn said the charter school is financially "in better shape" than it's ever been. But, she added, the problems are rooted in the actions of the school's founder and former principal, the Rev. Gary Carson.

Carson resigned as the charter school's principal in March 2004, citing the demands of dealing with a family illness and heading the Westminster Presbyterian Church as its pastor. Carson was recently "defrocked," or stripped of his ministerial duties, for seven years by the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, according to former church treasurer Walter Sellers.

During its first two years, the Language Academy was cited twice in school district audits for not complying with financial, staffing and curriculum rules. The school also struggled to keep balanced bank accounts and failed to properly document some purchases.

At Fiorentino's request, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office is investigating whether there was any financial mismanagement - or just bad record-keeping - at the school.

Pasco County has six charter schools, publicly funded schools that are run by private organizations. Another school, Deerwood Academy, closed in 2003 amid financial struggles.

At its Tuesday meeting, the School Board is set to vote on whether to submit a resolution in favor of keeping the authority to authorize Pasco charter schools, rather than hand that power to a statewide commission. The district's staff is recommending that the School Board submit a resolution to retain exclusive authority.

Mary Spicuzza covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached at 813 909-4614 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4614. Her e-mail address is mspicuzza@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 28, 2006, 23:53:48]