Closed charter school skipped payday, teachers say

Beset by allegations of fiscal mismanagement and poor academic performance, Germantown Settlement Charter School was forced to close last month, but its money troubles still plague its staff.

Teachers and other employees of the shuttered middle school did not receive scheduled paychecks last week. Although they had worked for 10 months, their contract called for their salaries to be spread over 12, until the end of August.

"We have already earned this salary," said Victoria Johnson, who taught seventh-grade social studies. "And it was to be escrowed and disbursed throughout the summer."

According to some teachers, the charter's board is blaming the state budget impasse in Harrisburg for the missing checks. Owing to the chronic fiscal problems, the school has no reserves, teachers said administrators told them on Friday.

"They are telling us they are waiting to get money from the state," said Kevin Eddis, who taught eighth-grade English. "They are swearing up and down that once they get money from the state, they will pay us."

Board members and administrators could not be reached yesterday.

The budget stalemate could not be the cause of the missed payroll, said Leah Harris, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. The department already has sent all charter money for 2008-09 to the Philadelphia School District for distribution to the 63 charters that operated in the city through June.

Germantown Settlement Charter enrolled approximately 400 students from fifth through eighth grades on campuses at 4811 Germantown Ave. and 5538 Wayne Ave.

The district's charter school office is trying to untangle the mystery, according to spokeswoman Barbara Farley. "We became aware of the matter" yesterday, she said, "and we're working to resolve it."

Candy Lerner, an official with the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania, which has represented the Germantown instructors, called the missing paychecks "outrageous."

"None of this was the teachers' fault," Lerner said.

Teachers said yesterday that even as the board tried to appease creditors and fight the district's efforts to close it, Germantown Settlement Charter leaders told them their salaries were secure.

"They had meetings assuring us, 'Don't worry about that,' " art teacher Trichita Covington recalled. "A lot of teachers were leaving because they thought they were not going to get paid."

In addition to Friday's missed payment, staffers are due two checks in August.

The school, which opened in 1999, was one of two city charters that closed last month after losing bids to obtain new operating charters.

In October, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission denied the school a new charter because it had failed to abide by the conditions of its charter; was plagued by fiscal mismanagement; had a history of poor academic performance; and failed to meet state requirements that it submit timely annual reports and have at least 75 percent certified teachers.

The state charter appeals board upheld the commission's decision in February.

Germantown Settlement Charter is being investigated by the school district's inspector general and by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Both are looking into whether charter funds were diverted to prop up other entities related to its parent organization, Germantown Settlement, according to sources with knowledge of the probes.