Deion's Prime Prep running out of prime time
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 8:42 am
Dallas Morning News:
Prime Prep Academy, the charter school co-founded by Deion Sanders, faces closure for what the state says is improper financial management and failure to comply with the state education code.
The Texas Education Agency issued the findings Tuesday in a letter of intent to revoke the open-enrollment charter of Uplift Fort Worth, the parent organization of Prime Prep campuses in Dallas and Fort Worth.
The agency’s action followed a several-month review of Prime Prep Academy’s administration of the federally funded National School Lunch Program. The charter school, which opened in 2012 to much fanfare because of Sanders’ involvement, has faced problems in almost every area.
“It is not in the best interest of students to attend a charter school that is ineligible for participation in the [National School Lunch Program] or any other child nutrition program administered by [the Texas Department of Agriculture],” the letter says.
In its letter to Prime Prep, TEA cited four reasons for shutting down the school:
The school has been ineligible to participate in the free- and reduced-price lunch and child nutrition programs for more than 30 days.
The school’s inability to participate in those programs “constitutes serious unsatisfactory financial performance.”
The school’s financial issues have been serious and not corrected.
The school failed to comply with the Texas Education Code and satisfy “generally accepted accounting standards.”
The school was dropped from the national lunch program in April.
Uplift Fort Worth has until July 30 to appeal the recommendation and request a hearing. If it doesn’t appeal, the school’s charter will be revoked. Prime Prep Superintendent Ron Price said he is planning to appeal the decision.
Price, who took over as superintendent in January, blamed his predecessors for the school’s possible demise.
“Unfortunately, these things happened in 2012, prior to my arrival of January 2014,” he said
Sanders couldn’t be reached for comment. But on Twitter, Sanders blamed the other co-founder of the school, D.L. Wallace. Wallace didn’t return a request for comment.
Series of problems
Prime Prep Academy has faced problems since its inception in August 2012.
Before it ever opened, some State Board of Education members voiced concern with Prime Prep’s charter application. A former member, Michael Soto, criticized the application for its lack of a curriculum plan.
A school board member sued another trustee. There were even questions about who was on the school board. Sanders was fired twice by the school’s board and is not currently employed by the school. Sanders and Wallace wrestled for control of the schools. More than 100 computers disappeared from the school. And it couldn’t pay its employees in January because administrators couldn’t get access to its bank account.
Edna Phillips, whose daughter stopped attending the school in December, said Prime Prep’s promise of academic excellence proved untrue.
“There were some things that they told us at the orientation that weren’t true — the top-notch testing, the secondary language,” Phillips said. “It felt like we still had to be teachers more so than the teachers. Your child should be able to come home and tell you what they learned.”
The Texas Education Agency has been investigating Prime Prep Academy since December. The agency was also looking into the school’s failure to comply with criminal history reviews and spending state funds on expenses that were not allowed.
The agency found some employees weren’t fingerprinted for background checks, as required by law. The TEA also found Prime Prep campuses weren’t wheelchair accessible and didn’t comply with federal law.
Board President T. Christopher Lewis said in January that he didn’t worry about the school’s future despite the investigations. “I’m confident that we’re getting the right people in place to get this school turned around,” he said.
Meal money
The Texas Department of Agriculture sent a letter to Price in April saying that Prime Prep had until May 12 to repay $45,830.92 it received for providing subsidized meals in fall 2013. The department said the school provided no documentation that those meals were served but filed claims for the money.
In April, Prime Prep had an enrollment of 489 at the two campuses. Slightly more than half — 248 — were eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The Texas Department of Agriculture terminated its meal program agreement with Prime Prep in April, making the school no longer able to participate in subsidized meal programs.
Prime Prep has faced problems with its subsidized school lunch program since December 2012. It received a Notice of Serious Deficiencies that month after a TDA audit. The charter school submitted a plan to correct the problems, which TDA accepted.
In its plan, Prime Prep noted that the top officials who started the school have been replaced. That includes Wallace and his wife, Chazma Jones, whom the agriculture department accused of mismanaging a summer food program.
Those problems and more resurfaced in February in another TDA review. The agency said Prime Prep didn’t follow through on its corrective plan and would be terminated from the National School Lunch Program in April.
Prime Prep Academy, the charter school co-founded by Deion Sanders, faces closure for what the state says is improper financial management and failure to comply with the state education code.
The Texas Education Agency issued the findings Tuesday in a letter of intent to revoke the open-enrollment charter of Uplift Fort Worth, the parent organization of Prime Prep campuses in Dallas and Fort Worth.
The agency’s action followed a several-month review of Prime Prep Academy’s administration of the federally funded National School Lunch Program. The charter school, which opened in 2012 to much fanfare because of Sanders’ involvement, has faced problems in almost every area.
“It is not in the best interest of students to attend a charter school that is ineligible for participation in the [National School Lunch Program] or any other child nutrition program administered by [the Texas Department of Agriculture],” the letter says.
In its letter to Prime Prep, TEA cited four reasons for shutting down the school:
The school has been ineligible to participate in the free- and reduced-price lunch and child nutrition programs for more than 30 days.
The school’s inability to participate in those programs “constitutes serious unsatisfactory financial performance.”
The school’s financial issues have been serious and not corrected.
The school failed to comply with the Texas Education Code and satisfy “generally accepted accounting standards.”
The school was dropped from the national lunch program in April.
Uplift Fort Worth has until July 30 to appeal the recommendation and request a hearing. If it doesn’t appeal, the school’s charter will be revoked. Prime Prep Superintendent Ron Price said he is planning to appeal the decision.
Price, who took over as superintendent in January, blamed his predecessors for the school’s possible demise.
“Unfortunately, these things happened in 2012, prior to my arrival of January 2014,” he said
Sanders couldn’t be reached for comment. But on Twitter, Sanders blamed the other co-founder of the school, D.L. Wallace. Wallace didn’t return a request for comment.
Series of problems
Prime Prep Academy has faced problems since its inception in August 2012.
Before it ever opened, some State Board of Education members voiced concern with Prime Prep’s charter application. A former member, Michael Soto, criticized the application for its lack of a curriculum plan.
A school board member sued another trustee. There were even questions about who was on the school board. Sanders was fired twice by the school’s board and is not currently employed by the school. Sanders and Wallace wrestled for control of the schools. More than 100 computers disappeared from the school. And it couldn’t pay its employees in January because administrators couldn’t get access to its bank account.
Edna Phillips, whose daughter stopped attending the school in December, said Prime Prep’s promise of academic excellence proved untrue.
“There were some things that they told us at the orientation that weren’t true — the top-notch testing, the secondary language,” Phillips said. “It felt like we still had to be teachers more so than the teachers. Your child should be able to come home and tell you what they learned.”
The Texas Education Agency has been investigating Prime Prep Academy since December. The agency was also looking into the school’s failure to comply with criminal history reviews and spending state funds on expenses that were not allowed.
The agency found some employees weren’t fingerprinted for background checks, as required by law. The TEA also found Prime Prep campuses weren’t wheelchair accessible and didn’t comply with federal law.
Board President T. Christopher Lewis said in January that he didn’t worry about the school’s future despite the investigations. “I’m confident that we’re getting the right people in place to get this school turned around,” he said.
Meal money
The Texas Department of Agriculture sent a letter to Price in April saying that Prime Prep had until May 12 to repay $45,830.92 it received for providing subsidized meals in fall 2013. The department said the school provided no documentation that those meals were served but filed claims for the money.
In April, Prime Prep had an enrollment of 489 at the two campuses. Slightly more than half — 248 — were eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The Texas Department of Agriculture terminated its meal program agreement with Prime Prep in April, making the school no longer able to participate in subsidized meal programs.
Prime Prep has faced problems with its subsidized school lunch program since December 2012. It received a Notice of Serious Deficiencies that month after a TDA audit. The charter school submitted a plan to correct the problems, which TDA accepted.
In its plan, Prime Prep noted that the top officials who started the school have been replaced. That includes Wallace and his wife, Chazma Jones, whom the agriculture department accused of mismanaging a summer food program.
Those problems and more resurfaced in February in another TDA review. The agency said Prime Prep didn’t follow through on its corrective plan and would be terminated from the National School Lunch Program in April.
