Tindley charter schools chief’s exit didn’t solve woes
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The problems at Tindley Accelerated Schools didn’t go away when Chancellor Marcus Robinson resigned. If anything, the change served only to highlight the challenges still facing the once-lauded charter school system.
A cash crunch, substantial teacher and administrative turnover, missed enrollment targets and unfounded rumors about the possible closure of an elementary school—whispers that had the network scrambling to keep principals from leaving—continue to plague Tindley.
Concerns boiled over during a recent school board meeting at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School.
Tindley parent Amelia Aguirre said she was pulling her son out of Tindley school because he had been without an algebra teacher for three months.
“I feel like Tindley has failed us,” Aguirre said at the Feb. 25 meeting, where Tindley leaders were meeting for a frank coversation about the homegrown network’s future.
RobinsonNow, without the direction of Robinson—one of the most prominent faces in the Indianapolis school reform scene—Tindley has to answer tough questions about the network’s size, financial position and how to move forward.
“I don’t think this is rocket science,” said board member Mark Bruin. “We grew too fast, too quickly. Looking back, I don’t know [that] some of this should be that big a surprise.”
The tumult in Tindley’s top administration has continued since Robinson’s sudden resignation on Feb. 8. IBJ reported in December that Robinson was under scrutiny following lavish hotel and travel spending that he charged to the Tindley credit card. In a press release about his resignation, Robinson said he was leaving to finish his doctoral degree.
Evan Hawkins, the network’s chief operating officer who joined Tindley in 2011, resigned at midnight Feb. 24 from the role as Tindley treasurer. The next day, the board appointed the network’s controller, Terri Anderson, as interim treasurer. Hawkins did not respond to IBJ’s request for comment.
Board members, meanwhile, have been scrambling to reassure principals across the network that they should stick with the schools. The board in late February renewed a lease for the space used by Tindley Summit Academy after some worried it would close at the end of just its second year.
“We’ve got to keep those principals and give them assurances,” board member John Neighbours said.
So far, board members say the plan is to “stay the course” and that they have no plans to close any schools.
“The only way we sustain that is to make sure we have the enrollment to support it,” said board member Adam Horst, vice president and controller of Indiana University Health. “It will help make sure we can keep the door open.”
“I don’t think this is rocket science,” said board member Mark Bruin. “We grew too fast, too quickly. Looking back, I don’t know [that] some of this should be that big a surprise.”
The tumult in Tindley’s top administration has continued since Robinson’s sudden resignation on Feb. 8. IBJ reported in December that Robinson was under scrutiny following lavish hotel and travel spending that he charged to the Tindley credit card. In a press release about his resignation, Robinson said he was leaving to finish his doctoral degree.
Evan Hawkins, the network’s chief operating officer who joined Tindley in 2011, resigned at midnight Feb. 24 from the role as Tindley treasurer. The next day, the board appointed the network’s controller, Terri Anderson, as interim treasurer. Hawkins did not respond to IBJ’s request for comment.
Board members, meanwhile, have been scrambling to reassure principals across the network that they should stick with the schools. The board in late February renewed a lease for the space used by Tindley Summit Academy after some worried it would close at the end of just its second year.
“We’ve got to keep those principals and give them assurances,” board member John Neighbours said.
So far, board members say the plan is to “stay the course” and that they have no plans to close any schools.
“The only way we sustain that is to make sure we have the enrollment to support it,” said board member Adam Horst, vice president and controller of Indiana University Health. “It will help make sure we can keep the door open.”
BruinStill, Tindley continues to struggle financially.
The system finally tapped into a $750,000 line of credit from the Charter School Growth Fund, which it had previously considered using to make November 2015 payroll.
The network borrowed $250,000 from the fund in late December and then $750,000 from a new state-funded charter school loan program. Bruin said Tindley used the state loan to repay the $250,000 borrowed from the growth fund. The balance, he said, is being used for “working capital purposes.”
Tindley ended the year with a $187,119 negative cash balance. Projections prepared by the school board show the network’s cash balances swelled to $1.57 million in mid-February, but they are expected to drop to a mere $3,697 by the end of June.
“The projections show we may, and I stress may, need to borrow additional money in May [or] June,”Tindley charter schools chief’s exit didn’t solve woes | 2016-03-05 | Indianapolis Business Journal | IBJ.com:
The system finally tapped into a $750,000 line of credit from the Charter School Growth Fund, which it had previously considered using to make November 2015 payroll.
The network borrowed $250,000 from the fund in late December and then $750,000 from a new state-funded charter school loan program. Bruin said Tindley used the state loan to repay the $250,000 borrowed from the growth fund. The balance, he said, is being used for “working capital purposes.”
Tindley ended the year with a $187,119 negative cash balance. Projections prepared by the school board show the network’s cash balances swelled to $1.57 million in mid-February, but they are expected to drop to a mere $3,697 by the end of June.
“The projections show we may, and I stress may, need to borrow additional money in May [or] June,”Tindley charter schools chief’s exit didn’t solve woes | 2016-03-05 | Indianapolis Business Journal | IBJ.com:
