Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveled
At the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls, the school board in July met without informing parents and voted to hire a new business manager ... who happened to be a member of the board. Months later, the business manager was terminated 'for cause' in connection to the misuse of a school credit card.
At some New York City charter schools, conflicts of interest are a way of life.
In July, the board of trustees at the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls met after school shut down for the summer without informing parents and voted to hire a new business manager. The new manager was a member of the board, records show.
Within a few months, questions arose about the manager’s potential misuse of a school credit card, according to minutes of the board’s meetings obtained by the Daily News.
At a Dec. 18 meeting, board trustee Yolanda LaGuerre, who was absent when the board hired the manager, made an unsuccessful motion to refer the credit card matter to law enforcement. The board then voted to terminate the manager “for cause,” but the credit card matter remained a secret.
LaGuerre declined to discuss the matter last week. Board Chairwoman Alana Barran did not return calls. All of the school’s board meetings are listed on Bronx Global’s website except one — the July meeting where the board hired one of its own.
Some charters have a particularly cozy relationship with the company they pay to manage their schools. Sometimes employees of these firms even sit on the school boards that approve their contracts.
In the Bronx, for example, a nonprofit management firm called Lighthouse Academies runs three schools — Bronx Lighthouse, Bronx Lighthouse College Prep and Metropolitan Lighthouse.
A Lighthouse executive sits on the board of these schools, and the boards
A glance at expenses at the Bronx Lighthouse school, where the board of trustees includes an executive from the firm that manages the school.