Milestone charter and state school board squabble over CEO credit-card incident
As part of a continuing spat, Milestone Academy charter school is accusing the Louisiana Department of Education of overstepping its authority, breaching its own policies and possibly violating the state open-meetings law.
The school’s attorney Mike Higgins sent a letter demanding the department “cease and desist” a comprehensive review of the school’s governance for a multitude of reasons.
Higgins’ letter appears to have worked.
At today’s committee meeting of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, members unanimously put off the matter until October, despite the July 31 due date for the report. The delay was recommended by the department, which is led by Superintendent John White, who downplayed the significance of his request.
“Members, it’s just a matter of timing. The audit is not yet finished,” he said at the meeting in Baton Rouge.
The 389-student D-rated school opened its doors in 2003 and was in New Orleans until 2013, when it moved to Jefferson Parish. Because it is chartered directly by BESE, it accepts students regardless of where they live, and it’s able to move across parish boundaries.
The purpose of the audit, according to a letter from the state to the school, is to review the roles and duties of the board, not to track or verify financial matters. The letter said the review would be done by an outside company and would examine “board membership, governance structures, and bylaws.”
The school made news in July when it was revealed the school’s interim CEO, D’Juan Hernandez, had racked up $13,000 in charges on a credit card he opened under false pretenses using the school’s name. Hernandez resigned, and according to a NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune article, paid back the money.
Milestone board members said at the time that they felt pressured by state officials to hire Hernandez. A spokesman for the Milestone charter and state school board squabble over CEO credit-card incident | The Lens: