The May 25, 2021 Houston Chronicle reports of the firing of IDEA Public Schools charter chain CEO JoAnn Gama and CFO Irma Muñoz “after a forensic review found ‘substantial evidence’ that top leaders at the state’s largest charter network misused money and staff for personal gain ‘in a manner to avoid detection by the standard external audit and internal control processes that the Board had in place at the time,'” according to IDEA board president Al Lopez.
The Chronicle continues:
The firings followed an anonymous tip received after the departures last year of two other high-ranking IDEA leaders, former CEO Tom Torkelson and former CFO Wyatt Truscheit. Lopez’s letter says the allegations of misconduct involve “a small number of IDEA senior leaders,” though it does not name any individuals alleged to have engaged in improper spending or use of staff.
IDEA’s finances came under fire in late 2019, following the board’s quickly-reversed decision to lease a private jet and the disclosure that the charter network spent money on luxury suites at San Antonio’s AT&T Center, among other decisions. Torkelson resigned in May 2020, agreeing to a $900,000 settlement payout with the charter’s board.
And just that fast, both Gama and Muñoz were scrubbed from the IDEA leadership page.
I wanted some background on Gama and Muñoz, which I found on this archived CONTINUE READING: The Fall of the IDEA Charter Execs: No Luxury Jet Can Save Us Now. | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog
