Dive Brief:
- Wisdom Academy of Young Scientists was notified by the Los Angeles County Board of Education that its charter will be revoked due to the alleged misallocation of funding.
- The founder and former director of the South Los Angeles charter, Kendra Okonkwo, reportedly paid herself, relatives, and other close associates $2.6 million since the school opened in 2006, according to the audit.
- Before the county can revoke the charter, a public hearing will occur on October 21.
Dive Insight:
Criminal fraud, conflicts of interest, and misappropriation of public funds are just three of the potential issues found within the audit, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In the face of these allegations, the school's founder Kendra Okonkwo is doing her best to deny all. "I'm not a soldier, I'm not a politician. I'm just an educator. They've slandered me. All I want to do is educate children," she told the Los Angeles Times.
It's a bit difficult to believe, especially in light of the fact that Wisdom was originally chartered by Los Angeles Unified School District, but lost its charter in 2011 due to various violations including board conflicts of interests.
So why does the school still exist if it lost its charter in 2011? Los Angeles County swooped in and let the school continue. This sort of "authorizer" hopping is a major issue and one of the main reasons why poor charter schools are allowed to persist. As Los Angeles looks into the case of Wisdom, it would be wise to also step back and really consider the city and state's authorizing practices.