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District's staff wants Language Academy closed

By GINA PACE
Published December 15, 2006

LAND O'LAKES - The struggling Language Academy's last effort to remain in operation and overcome its financial woes falls short, a school district auditor said Thursday.

District staffers are recommending that the school close for good.

The School Board, which will make the final decision Tuesday, had previously voted on Oct. 3 to terminate the school's charter effective Jan. 1. But board members heard an appeal from the school in November, and district officials gave Language Academy officials multiple chances and extensions to come up with a plan for financial solvency.

But the latest plan, submitted last week, isn't good enough, said John Simon, the district's internal audit and federal grants manager. The plan leaves the school short about $36,000 at the end of the year, he said.

Among other concerns, Simon said the plan does not account for $20,000 needed to pay teachers' salaries for July 2007 by the end of the 2006-07 fiscal year, which is required for accounting reasons.

Currently, the Language Academy owes $137,600 to private collectors. This month, the school paid back $35,000 to the school district that it had received in overpayments.

Simon used the school's financial plans, its past expenditures and state financial guidelines to complete his analysis. He said a detailed financial review would likely point to a bleaker outlook because there could be additional bills that haven't been paid. It is now clear that the school should close, said Nancy Scowcroft, the district's supervisor of charter schools.

"It's a recommendation that's difficult for the superintendent to make and difficult for the board to contemplate," she said. "I think everyone is going to have a very hard time with this."

Language Academy principal Joyce Nunn was on vacation Thursday. Reached by cell phone, she declined to comment before seeing the written recommendation.

But Mark Stitt, president of the charter school's board, said the academy has not given up.

"We still feel that we have a chance to convince the board to keep us open," he said. "We will be there in full force on Tuesday."

Board Chairwoman Marge Whaley said she does not think School Board members have a choice - they must follow Florida law.

"We cannot take money from public school funds and transfer it to the Language Academy," she said. "They have to make it on what they are given by the state."

That approach may seem harsh, Whaley said, but being able to run a school also means being able to run a business.

Marie Cederman, a parent of an eighth-grader at the Language Academy, sees the matter in very personal terms. She doesn't want her son to have to change schools midyear.

"I feel like those kids are going to be left behind," she said. "They are people. They are not dollar bills to move around."

Gina Pace can be reached at 352 521-6518 or gpace@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 14, 2006, 23:05:59]