Sparks charter school to stay open

RENO -- A charter school founded by state Sen. Maurice Washington, has been given a reprieve to continue to operate.

The Washoe County School Board voted 4-3 Tuesday to override the recommendation of Superintendent James Hager to revoke the charter of the Nevada Leadership Academy in Sparks. The vote came after a parade of parents and students urged the board to allow the 2-year-old school to continue, saying the educational product is good.

Board members warned school officials they would have to improve in the coming year or they might lose their license. The school must submit monthly progress reports to the district that oversees the operation.

Washington, R-Sparks, a strong proponent of charter schools in the Legislature, founded the academy but resigned as its leader in May. He faces a misdemeanor charge that he failed to pay workers' compensation coverage for school employees. He has denied the allegation, and a trial is set for later this year.

A civil suit has been filed against Washington by state Division of Industrial Relations, saying it had to pay more than $11,000 for treatment of an on-the-job injury for a worker at Washington's Center of Hope Church where he is pastor. A spokesman for the state said Washington has agreed to settle the payment.

The recommendation to close Nevada Leadership Academy came after a school district review and audit that suggested financial records were missing, that it failed to provide adequate instruction for special education students, that Nevada's open-meeting law was violated and that religious instruction may have been given at the school.

School board members asked Hager if the students were making progress. He replied, "We don't know how well the youngsters have done." He said there were irregularities in the testing assessment.

His recommendation to close the school, he said, was made "for what's best for the kids."

Anthony Hall, attorney for the school, said the problems found in the audit have been solved and the accounting system should be running by the end of September. He said there have been "blatant misrepresentations" that the school violated the open-meeting law or gave religious instruction to students.

Hall said the license can't be revoked because of issues that are already corrected.

But school board attorney Jeff Blanck said the charter school can't keep violating the rules every year, make corrections and keep operating.

About 70 percent of the students are non-white at the school. It's enrollment started at 149 and dropped to 106 at the end of the first year. It started with 97 students the second year and that fell to 71.

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