Atlas

Explorer Elementary and Middle Location: Melbourne
Enrollment: 275
Revenue: $1.4 million
Opened: 1998
Type: K-8 school
Students: 28 percent poor, 14 percent disabled
Grade: A

Explorer may be unique for being the only charter in the state to consistently earn an A rating yet be so mismanaged that the local school district had to take it over. Before the Brevard superintendent appointed a principal to the school last week, Explorer auditors found numerous problems with the school, including about $6,000 of public funds lent from the principal to employees, about $3,600 in unpaid federal payroll taxes and about $30,000 misappropriated from the payroll account. The school's biggest problem sits half-completed on Eau Gallie Boulevard. Explorer took a $1.8 million loan to build a new campus, but hurricanes set the project back, and the contractor defaulted. The school leased nearby space and has been trying unsuccessfully to sell the Eau Gallie property. Meanwhile, auditors warn that Fifth Third Bank may foreclose on the property. The charter board learned recently that Explorer Finance Director Jay Maer, who doubled as the board's treasurer, was a felon convicted of grand theft and forgery. When the board didn't remove him, the district took over. Maer resigned last week.

View financial information for this schoolCoral Reef Montessori Location: Miami
Enrollment: 341
Revenue: $2.5 million
Opened: 1998
Type: K-8 school
Students: 33 percent poor, 10 percent disabled
Grade: A

For years, Florida's first teacher-founded charter was paying a 12.75 percent interest rate on an interest-only loan to cover leases of about $23,000 a month. We went to 13 banks and got turned down. We don't have corporate backing, said school Directors Lucy Canzoneri-Golden and Juliet King. The school refinanced with an interest rate of less than 9 percent and built its own building with a $3.3 million loan, but construction costs mounted, with more than $100,000 in unforeseen safety-related expenses. Golden and King, both former Miami-Dade County teachers, each earn about $90,000 -- as much or more than principals of larger schools. The salaries equal those of highly experienced Miami-Dade teachers extended out over 12 months instead of the standard 10-month schedule, Golden said. Meanwhile, the school pays starting teachers about $32,000, compared with about $36,000 for Miami-Dade teachers. Golden said the school hopes to make up the gap next year. Golden and King are charter board members but said they do not vote. The women serve at the pleasure of the charter board, and Golden's husband sits on the board. She said he doesn't vote on matters that affect her directly. Though principals of regular schools cannot hire relatives to work for them, Golden's daughters sometimes work as substitute teachers.

View financial information for this schoolReading Edge Academy Location: DeBary
Enrollment: 209
Revenue: $1.3 million
Opened: 2001
Type: Elementary school
Students: 48 percent poor, 17 percent disabled
Grade: B

Three board members of The Reading Edge Academy get paid collectively more than $125,000 for working as employees of the school. Principal Margaret Comardo, who is on the board, said she and the other employees do not vote on any matters that affect them personally. She said her $70,000 salary is less than the salaries of other Volusia principals. Beginning elementary principals make similar amounts but supervise three to four times as many students. Florida does not allow employees of traditional schools to sit on the boards that approve their salaries and set policies that affect them. But Comardo, who co-founded The Reading Edge, said she sees no problem with having a teacher on the board and envisions The Reading Edge board always keeping at least a teacher on the board.

View financial information for this schoolCornerstone Elementary Location: Bunnell
Enrollment: 212
Revenue: $1.8 million
Opened: 2004
Type: Elementary school
Students: 7 percent poor, 6 percent disabled
Grade: B

Academies of Excellence Inc. manages Cornerstone Elementary and has spent substantial amounts of money on companies that are tied to Academies of Excellence, the school's auditor reported. While doing business with Cornerstone, the president of Academies of Excellence was the chief executive officer of C2T2 Educational Systems and an officer of School Security Solutions. Academies President Doug Jackson said he is no longer affiliated with the companies, but he credited them with helping drive the school's grade from D to B. Independent auditors found no contracts detailing the services those companies were supposed to provide or how much they would be paid. Jackson said there were purchase orders and the board was aware of their work. The school continues to lease space from a company whose chief executive officer is on the school's board of directors, although Jackson said the rents are below market value. The audit also stated that Academies of Excellence commingled public funds between campuses in Brevard and Flagler, violating grant requirements. Jackson said that only occurred because of the charters' inexperience. The same board of directors serves all three groups: Academies and its charters. According to Jackson, the group is trying to get away from shared board members.

View financial information for this schoolMiami Children’s Museum Charter School Enrollment: 79
Revenue: $775,848
Opened: 2004
Type: K-2 school
Students: 70 percent poor, 3 percent disabled
Grade: None, no students in grades tested

Located in the Miami Children's Museum, the charter school paid the museum admission fees of $53,000, which is enough to give all the students family memberships plus hire a teacher. Student memberships would cost about $8,100. Officials with the school's management company, Academica, said the admission expense helps cover the cost the school's museum classrooms and museum staff. The school paid more than $27,000 in facilities maintenance -- money spent primarily cleaning four museum classrooms during the school year, Academica Chief Financial Officer Ana Martinez said. The school also spent $68,000 on capital purchases, which Martinez said helped pay to equip the museum classes with desks for its five dozen students. Meanwhile, the school spent less than half of its money on instruction.

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