Of Duties Unfulfilled, Part Three

One of the laments to be heard during the facilities fiasco was that the school simply did not have the revenue needed to consider other options. This turns out to be an enduring refrain at Eagle Ridge Academy, one that was sung during the remodel, during teacher contract discussions and, especially, during the Board’s unsubtle sabotage of the proposed elementary school. Alas, this claim, unlike some others shamelessly adduced by the Board, appears to be completely factual. Eagle Ridge Academy has very little financial flexibility. Why? Certainly the inadequate per-pupil funding provided for charter schools is the beginning of the issue. But those numbers have been known for years. The lack of financial resources at Eagle Ridge Academy represents a fundamental failure on the part of the Board.

This Board has become quite adept at counting other people’s money, but has shown no ability to generate any of its own. Where are those vital community contacts needed for fundraising? Where are the prominent Board members making the corporate rounds? Where is the wealthy family friend to underwrite some Eagle Ridge Academy initiative? Where is the network of parents and staff making calls? The Board has been happy to recognize the generous contributions of Eagle Ridge Academy families, but a policy of waiting by the door with a box of chocolates in hopes of someone dropping off a bag of cash is uninspired. Besides, the hundreds of dollars donated by generous families (in addition to the tissues, the plastic ware, the playground toys, the lunch items, etc) are a drop in the bucket. Eagle Ridge Academy needs thousands, tens of thousands, of dollars to remain competitive.

Charter schools enjoy state and federal funds for the first three years of operation. This is designed to get the school off the ground. There are leases to initiate, computers, books and tables to purchase, and vendor agreements to sign. Also, teachers and administrators have to be hired and paid before the doors open, and the school must advertise if anyone will ever come through those doors. But after three years, the training wheels come off and a charter school is left to sink or swim in the marketplace. This is not lamentable; in fact, subjecting public education to market forces is precisely why charter schools exist.

It is therefore disturbing that the Eagle Ridge Academy Board has generated no revenue of its own. After two years of occasionally showing up on an agenda, ERA held it first large fundraiser this past fall. Even if that fundraiser was an unmitigated success (it wasn’t), it would still represent failure. It took four years to set up a simple walk around a lake? Actually, it didn’t. It took a few weeks. The reality is that the Board seems never to have made any effort to generate funds prior to this fall. And they have generated none since.

Eagle Ridge Academy has had two successive treasurers who were accountants, but all either of them ever did was read from a balance sheet printed by someone else and recite the mantra that the school didn’t have enough money. Could it be that ERA pays a vendor to pay its bills? It’s clear that the current treasurer has little idea what the line items and categories are. Now that the outgoing Director is ousted, who will interpret the balance sheet for him?

Which raises another interesting point. The only person who ever brought extra revenue into the school seems to be the ousted Director. Grant money paid for the wireless laptop carts this year, did it not? Since that grant was not formally recognized at any Board meeting, we are unlikely to know what else was paid for by grant money that came through the Director’s office.

All the Board has to say is that the “fund balance” looks good. Another word for “fund balance” is “reserves” or “cushion.” Eagle Ridge Academy currently runs a budget of almost $2 million. The vaunted “fund balance” of 20% or so thus represents $200,000 that is never used. How does the Board justify offering teachers a paltry 3% raise in the face of rising consumer inflation while it sits on $200,000 stuffed in its sock drawer? Is the Board saving it for a rainy day? How many teachers will leave due to low salaries and expensive insurance before we declare it to be raining? Is it raining when the school has no sign after four years? When no effort has been made to secure a suitable facility? Does the Board intend to give the unspent money back when the school fails? What was the parable about the steward who buried his coin and was then reprimanded? A charter school is an entrepreneurial enterprise. Every available penny needs to be wisely spent, and more pennies generated, so that the school can succeed. Anything less is negligence.