School District to ASPIRA: Fix up your school

THE SCHOOL district's Charter School Office has laid down the law to charter operator ASPIRA Inc. of Pennsylvania over the charter renewal of one of its schools, John B. Stetson.

In a detailed letter dated Jan. 22 and obtained by the Daily News, the charter office seeks an immediate overhaul of Stetson's board of trustees, its business practices and its oversight of the school.

The letter's author, Charter School Office operations coordinator Lauren Thum, lists 17 conditions that ASPIRA must satisfy before the office will recommend that the School Reform Commission extend Stetson's charter for one year. In almost all previous charter-renewal cases, the SRC has granted five-year renewals.

Eleven of the conditions must be met by April 30 or June 30, while the remaining items can be satisfied during the year. All the conditions would be incorporated into a one-year charter agreement, the letter said.

Thum wrote in the letter, addressed to Stetson board chair Fred Ramirez, that the one year would provide "sufficient time to acquire an additional year of academic performance data to assist the [office] in determining whether to recommend a five-year renewal and to address Board of Trustees and business practices concerns."

If ASPIRA officials don't accept the conditions, then the charter office could propose that Stetson's charter not be renewed, which would begin a hearing process that could take several months, said district spokesman Fernando Gallard. If that process were to take place, the K-8 school, on B Street near Allegheny Avenue in Kensington, would continue to operate while the matter is heard.

Thum asked for a response by Feb. 23, but no one from ASPIRA has responded to the district, Gallard said.

The district and ASPIRA "are in communication" over the renewal, Gallard said. Thum, through Gallard, declined to comment further about the letter.

Neither Ramirez nor Thomas Darden, chief operating officer for ASPIRA, responded to requests for comment.

Stetson's Board of Trustees was clearly a concern for the charter office - eight of the conditions concerned the board, which also oversees four other schools run by ASPIRA. The letter notes that Stetson's board "apparently has discussed matters, deliberated and voted during executive sessions in violation of the Sunshine Act."

The charter office called for:

* The removal of three nonparent board members by April 30 and the installation of a new board by June 30. Thum directs ASPIRA not to get "directly involved in the recruitment and selection of the new [board]."

* Amendment of bylaws to eliminate a provision that allows ASPIRA to appoint the majority of the board.

* Board members to attend training sessions including conflicts of interest, code of ethics and the Sunshine Law.

* A treasurer with a financial or auditing background.

The charter office also highlighted some financial concerns including a $1.9 million "bridge loan" from Stetson to ASPIRA. Thum notes that while the school loans ASPIRA money and its payments for ASPIRA's services have increased, the school's request for staffing, technology and other resources "go unfilled."

* The board to request a written explanation from ASPIRA about the $1.9 million and outline a plan to repay the school by June 30.

* The board to provide a list of individuals with access to debit/credit cards and a copy of the school's usage policy to be approved by the ASPIRA board by Feb. 28.