Yost issued a finding for recovery of $1.179 million against Kecia Williams, former director of Chappie James. She did not return a message seeking comment.
“When nearly half of your kids don’t have a file and there is no documentation, that’s not a mistake. That’s not bad book keeping. That’s fraud,” said Yost.
Last year, Kids Count of Dayton shut down the school by pulling out of its sponsor agreement. School equipment was auctioned off two months ago.
In March 2014, Yost’s office received a tip that the school had been inflating attendance numbers. The auditor and Montgomery County Sheriff’s office executed a search warrant in April 2014, seizing 80 boxes of records. Auditors tried to interview 141 students and/or their parents to see if the academy’s documentation supported the enrollment numbers reported to the state.
Yost said families interviewed reported that their students didn’t attend the academy at all that school year. One parent reported that her child had been incarcerated and another family reported that they had moved to Georgia, Yost said. Three school staff members interviewed by auditors reported that they raised issues but Williams told them not to worry about it, he said.
Yost said Kids Count of Dayton did the legal minimum oversight required of charter school sponsors but it wasn’t until after the audit kicked off that Kids Count began taking attendance, checking with the busing company or performing other checks.
Under Ohio law, a group that wants to run a charter school must sign an agreement with a state-approved sponsor that will monitor the school’s academic and fiscal status.
After operating under other sponsors, Chappie James Academy signed a sponsorship agreement with Kids Count in May 2013. But last week, ODE rated Kids Count as an ineffective sponsor of charter schools. “Kids Count must improve its practices in the areas of commitment, capacity and decision making, as well as secure significantly improved school outcomes if it wants to move out of the ‘ineffective’ overall rating category,” the state education department said in a written release.
Kids Count Director Ethel Washington-Harris did not return a message seeking comment.
Yost said the audit will be forwarded to Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who can decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
Chappie James Academy reported that it served about 60 students in grades 9 through 12 at 120 Knox Ave., a mile west of where U.S. 35 meets the Trotwood Connector. Yost said daily attendance averaged about 30 students.
Yost added that the Chappie James Academy audit illustrates that Ohio’s charter school oversight system needs to be overhauled. Yost said he is confident state lawmakers will act on reform legislation before they go on summer break.
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