#AnotherDayAnotherCharterScandal

Is Anyone Watching The Hen House?

Schools receiving public funding in California are required to fill out a school report card. Why does the North Valley Military Institute not have one on file?

“By February 1 of each year, every school in California is required by state law to publish a School Accountability Report Card (SARC).”

- North Valley Military Institute

The North Valley Military Institute College Preparatory Academy (NVMI) is one of the few charter schools that has been denied renewal by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Based on a report that found NVMI presented “an unsound educational program”, had “substandard academic results”, and was not financially sound, the LAUSD board voted unanimously on November 7, 2017, to end the ability of the charter school to operate under the oversight of the district. NVMI then appealed this decision to the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). While the staff at LACOE agreed with the findings of the LAUSD, the unelected county Board of Education ignored their staff and renewed NVMI’s charter for another five years.

NVMI’s brush with death seems to have done little to motivate it to improve its operations. Just before the county took over supervision, the school was cited for illegally charging their students to attend summer school and for violations of the state labor code. It was also revealed that a lawsuit had been filed against the school alleging that an administrator who lived with NVMI’s Executive Director had sexually abused students. It does not appear that parents were notified of these allegations at either NVMI or at Sun Valley High School where the charter is co-located.

The charter school also appears to be negligent in providing the public that funds its operations with accurate data required by law. According to School Accountability Report Card…