Charter officials vow to forge ahead despite row
It has been a pretty messy week for the Cape Coral Charter Schools and city Mayor Marni Sawicki as their respective issues were publically aired.
Despite this, Superintendent of Charter Schools Nelson Stephenson said it will be business as usual, with the system doing things to be more transparent – something he said will be a challenge if the mayor continues to look over its shoulder.
“My biggest concern is that the mayor is going around asking information about my administrators and myself instead of coming to me or my governing board. She’s sending shots across the bow,” Stephenson said.
At an recent audit meeting, Sawicki reportedly told Stephenson she would like to meet with him, but that he was posting items on social media against her, an allegation Stephenson denies.
Stephenson and Sawicki did meet on Nov. 21 to clear the air and both said was very productive. He said Sawicki apologized and promised to call him with any concerns.
But when Sawicki reneged on her promises, he said he turned to the media to publicly air his concerns.
“I’m only doing this because it’s the right thing. I’m defending my school system and my administrators and I’m willing to take the risk,” Stephenson said. “I was trying to mend bridges and felt we were on the same page until I learned she wasn’t.”
Sawicki responded to Stephenson’s allegations with a scathing e-mail Tuesday, asking why she was hearing the superintendent on the news without first hearing it through the board.
“I have never said to him or anyone else for that matter I wanted to fire him… Second, as a member of council, I would think the chairman of the Governing Board who is also the appointed liaison to council, Jessica Cosden, would have communicated any concerns or questions regarding the matter to either myself, council or at the very least our city attorney’s office,” Sawicki said in the e-mail.
She also questioned the timing of the story, saying it comes on the heels of an internal audit that may have issues. She has requested the charter board clarify the “erroneous information” provided by Stephenson.
The back-and-forth is not new.
The flareup started in June when, Stephenson said, Sawicki confronted him regarding one of her friends, whose contract was not renewed for the following school year.
Sawicki said her concern was with the number of those “let go” and the 20 percent who left the system during the previous school year.
The Lee County school system saw a number of 29 percent.
Cosden said last year’s teacher retention is a non-issue as half of the current school year is just about over and the math that was used to come up with the charter school and county numbers was different.
A public records request for his hiring information as well as those from the Oasis High School principal by Sawicki followed, Stephenson said, adding the mayor made a veiled threat regarding actions she could take with the city council and hirings within his administration.
The records request stirred controversy number two.
When City Council discovered the cost, the board rebuked it, eventually forcing a change in the way such requests are made, according to Cosden.
“To be fair, she didn’t know how long it would take,” Cosden said of the mayor’s request. “The school system doesn’t have the searchable database we have, so a request takes a lot longer. When she found out, it should have been dropped.”
The latest issue, coming this week, is roughly $6.7 million that the mayor says should have been invested by the school system.
An independent audit done by Clifton Allen Larson on the system found there was too much money in the account and that it wasn’t earning enough interest. The audit recommended changes.
That audit also found no impropriety and stated the city is the entity vested with the investment of funds, if any.
In her e-mail, Sawicki said that money should be making much more in interest.
Stephenson said that money, which is considered a reserve fund, is in a bank account, admittedly at miniscule interest. He said that money is used for unexpected expenses such as a water break that happened over the Thanksgiving break, which will cost about $20,000.
“We keep that money because it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do. The city has reserves, too. It would be irresponsible to have risky investments with higher rates of returns,” Cosden said. “I would not want to put our students at risk that way.”
There also is an expansion of the Christa McAuliffe Elementary campus coming up, which Stephenson said will cost at least $2 million.
“We had a statutory requirement of 3 percent and we put in 5 percent or a little more for McAuliffe,” Stephenson said of the reserves. “We have four portables and we have kids on a waiting list for elementary school, so we’re going to have to spend that money anyway. To put it in an investment that would lock up the money or be risky isn’t worth it.”
Stephenson said the reserves were not considered a big issue by the audit committee or the school board, but that Sawicki “spun” that issue along with the retention numbers.
The audit report is on Monday’s Council agenda.
Pending is a second audit.
In April, Stephenson asked City Auditor Margaret Krym for an internal audit on the internal funds, which he discovered hadn’t been done in at least seven years.
The results are due in January.
He told the school authority board there may be things in it that are painful to read, but it was the right thing to do.
“If we get a parent who comes in and gives us $100 for five candles. Where is that money going? How long before it gets deposited? Where is it? I’m not worried about anyone taking money,” Stephenson said.
Cosden explained why audits are conducted.
“The purpose of an audit is to find weaknesses. We will find them, I am sure, and we will fix them,” Cosden said.
Stephenson said his contract is up in June and he is willing to risk his job. He has gotten support from his board, which gave him a vote of confidence.
Going forward, Stephenson said he hopes Sawicki will leave his board alone and do the job they were hired for.
“I want to focus on the job at hand. We all have professional credentials. Our expertise is in the school system,” Stephenson said. “She needs to be supportive of the public schools and not threatening.”
Cosden said there are no immediate steps directly regarding the situation from the board, as Stephenson had the right to address the media.
“If he feels he’s being attacked, that’s his right and the mayor can respond back. She’s been using Facebook to communicate. I think it would be smarter if she would respond when reporters ask her questions,” Cosden said.
Cosden said the school year has been great and the system will “keep on keeping on” and continue to be great. Further, she said Stephenson will keep his job.
“When he comes up to having is contract redone in June, I don’t see that being an issue.
The next charter school board meeting is Dec. 13, which is when the board could take action, if any.
Calls to Sawicki’s cell phone were not immediately returned. She is out of town attending a conference as are other members of council and could not be reached for followup comments to her e-mails.