Michelle Miller was a teacher at Discovery Creemos Academy in Goodyear. Late last month, and with practically no notice, the school closed for good. Suddenly, Miller found herself out of a job.
“It is impossible to get a teacher job right now,” she said. “So some of us, including me, don’t know what we’re gonna be doing now.”
Bradley Academy of Excellence Inc. owned the school. Audits show CEO Daniel Hughes used hundreds of thousands of dollars to reimburse companies he owned. Hughes is now MIA.
The school got a renewed 20-year charter just last June, despite clear signs of financial trouble. The Arizona Charter Board president, Kathy Senseman, said to revoke a charter, they need official findings.
“We’re at the whim of when other agencies can audit or investigate,” she said after a board meeting. “So we’re looking into how do we work with those agencies more cooperatively, and [act] on these things faster.”
The state can only revoke a charter for academic reasons or for lawbreaking. The Board revoked Bradley’s charter on Monday because it wasn’t going to be open for the required number of days. But that action may be too little, too late for parents and teachers.
“There needs to be more oversight and more accountability,” said James Green, an attorney for the teachers. “There needs to be some things put in place to prevent this from happening again.”
Meanwhile, schools that took in Discovery Creemos students may or may not get additional funding to help with the influx.
