Major changes at troubled charter

The board of Philadelphia Academy Charter School last night made sweeping changes in its leadership in a bid to ensure that the Northeast school's charter wins approval to continue operating for five more years.

Five of the six board members have agreed to resign by July 31, and the board unanimously voted to sever all ties with Brien N. Gardiner, the school's founder, and Kevin M. O'Shea, its former chief executive officer, and to cease doing business with any companies associated with them by the end of the school year.

During an emotional meeting that drew more than 250 parents, teachers and community members, the board also fired O'Shea's sister, Connie, and his daughter Tara effective last night. Connie O'Shea had been the coordinator of the elementary school; Tara O'Shea was an executive assistant.

The board acted after lawyers from Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll, hired by the board last month to investigate allegations of financial mismanagement, nepotism, and conflicts of interest at the school, found evidence of widespread financial wrongdoing.

The lawyers said that their preliminary probe found evidence of improper use of school credit cards and that O'Shea and Gardiner had spent Philadelphia Academy Charter School funds to benefit other charter schools and businesses they were involved with. The lawyers also found that Gardiner had persuaded the charter board last summer to hire a company to manage the charter's business operations without disclosing that he had received money from the company.

Henry E. Hockeimer of Ballard Spahr said that while the investigation continued, it was impossible to estimate how much money might have been misused. "Frankly, every day we look at this, we find more stuff," he said.

Hockeimer said his team had been hampered because Gardiner and O'Shea had refused to provide requested documents or to be interviewed. He said law enforcement agencies would have better luck because they have subpoena power.

Neither man attended last night's meeting.

"This was a difficult night," said Kevin Feeley, who is providing communication services to the board. "The board also felt they were taken advantage of by these guys."

He added: "The school is beginning to put controls and reforms in place it needs to have to move forward."

The Ballard Spahr lawyers said they found no evidence that board members knew what O'Shea and Gardiner were doing.

Rosemary DiLacqua, the board's president, and members Joseph Resta; Victoria Venditti, a parent; Basil L. Merenda; and Preston D. Feden will resign by the end of July. Board member Connie Rodgers, a parent, will serve out her term, which expires next year.

For weeks, several parents had been calling on all six board members to resign.

Earlier yesterday, Sandra Dungee Glenn, chairwoman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, announced that commissioners had received a draft report from the district's inspector general, who has been conducting a separate and continuing investigation.

Dungee Glenn said she expected the commission to take action next month, but commission member Martin G. Bednarek said he thought the matter was too urgent to wait until then.

Inspector General John F. Downs, his staff, and district auditors met with the commission behind closed doors for several hours before an afternoon public meeting for a briefing on the investigation, according to district sources.

Last month, the five-member commission delayed a vote on extending Philadelphia Academy's operating charter for another five years to give Downs time to complete his inquiry.

The vote came a day after The Inquirer disclosed that the school's administrators were getting paid more than most area school superintendents and detailed allegations of nepotism, mismanagement and conflicts of interest.

Philadelphia Academy Charter School, which opened in 1999, is one of the district's most popular charter schools, with 1,200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The elementary school is at 11000 Roosevelt Blvd.; the high school campus is nearby at 1700 Tomlinson Rd.

At a packed meeting of the charter school board last month, the board voted to suspend Gardiner with pay, along with O'Shea, the former chief executive officer who had previously been demoted to his former post of chief operating officer.

O'Shea, a former city police officer with a high school diploma who had earned $206,137 as CEO in the 2006-07 academic year, resigned last week.

The district began looking into the school's financial practices as part of its charter renewal process. That inquiry intensified in the last few months after several parents alleged mismanagement and the school failed to supply requested documents.

As The Inquirer reported last month, Gardiner collected a total of $224,500 in salaries in 2005-06 from Philadelphia Academy and Northwood Academy, another charter he opened. He also received $70,000 from a nonprofit he founded to provide special-education services.

The same year, O'Shea received $102,700 as director of operations. He and his wife also received $144,000 from Gardiner's nonprofit.

In all, the Gardiner and the O'Shea families took home $541,200 in salaries from the charters and related companies in 2005-06. The next year, they collected at least $494,120.

Gardiner also receives a $9,000 monthly consulting fee from Camelot Schools of Pennsylvania L.L.C., a Texas company that has contract with the district to operate disciplinary schools and a one for at-risk students.

Charters are publicly funded schools that are exempt from some regulations of traditional public schools.