Idaho Statesman: Idaho charter school superintendent files $500,000 defamation claim against state

The superintendent of a Jerome charter school has filed a $500,000 tort claim against the state.

Heritage Academy’s Christine Ivie is pursuing legal action against the state’s Public Charter School Commission for “defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy,” according to a tort claim filed Sept. 23 with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.

A tort claim is a legally required precursor to a lawsuit. The state has 90 days to respond. If the state denies or does not respond to the claim, Ivie may file a lawsuit.

The claim stems from an April 11, 2019, Public Charter School Commission meeting held in Boise. During its regular meeting, the commission held an executive session — a closed meeting — that was inadvertently recorded, and then that recording was released through a public records request.

In the recording, commission members “repeatedly and outrageously insulted Dr. Ivie, Heritage Academy and the children of Jerome who attend Heritage Academy,” states her tort claim.

Because the executive session’s recording was released to the public, “many of the untrue statements were repeated numerous times in news articles locally and nationally.” 

Ivie is seeking the maximum amount allowed under state law for such a claim: $500,000.

Typically, details from executive sessions are not publicly released. Additionally, boards cannot take any action and are limited in what can be discussed during an executive session, which must be identified on an agenda.

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office investigated the April 11 executive session and found that the commission violated the state’s open meeting laws by not identifying the executive session on its agenda and by discussing topics outside the stated purpose of the executive session.

Read more here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article235427062.html#storylink=cpy

Special Meeting! Commissioners will discuss reauthorization process changes & statutory role

They will take comments from individuals for up to 3 minutes each BEFORE their discussion.

RSVP for the special meeting on Facebook Here or via email to IdahoPSO@gmail.com. See another letter below that was sent to schools this week. Waiving their authorizer fee in 2020. It’s a nice olive branch offering, but how does it contrast with what they were caught on audio saying about closing Heritage Academy in Jerome? In their illegal closed-door meeting they said they will close Heritage Academy if they don’t jump through the extra hoops traditional public schools don’t have to jump through. Here’s a great article about the data manipulation the staff of the commission had to do to paint this school as a failure. Great journalistic investigation into academic growth at Heritage Academy!

But, in the letter below they state “no schools are near the ends of their performance certificate terms, so no renewal process will take place.” Doesn’t the quote from the transcript above look like a process is underway? Why don’t they want due process for the schools?

Idaho Ed News: Charter Commission Seeks to Weather Storm after Summer of Controversy

Originally posted on Idaho Education News. Read the full article on their page here.

Kevin Richert 08/29/2019

By day, Alan Reed owns a family dairy — well-known around Idaho Falls for its ice cream products.

Idaho Public Charter School Commission Chairman Alan Reed addresses the audience at an Aug. 1 meeting. (Sami Edge, Idaho Education News.)

But Reed has spent the summer mired in political controversy, even though he says he wants what his critics want. “Choice is important, alternatives are important, when it comes to education.”

Reed chairs the Idaho Public Charter School Commission. Critics say commissioners are beholden to an unprofessional, biased staff. They say the commission’s rhetoric and Reed’s recent apologies to charter leaders belie a desire to shutter schools.

As Idaho’s charter school sector grows, reaching an enrollment of 25,000 students, the commission has become a polarizing force. Some charter leaders still defend the commission, despite recent missteps. Reed has been trying to mend fences with political leaders, and it appears the commission still has powerful Statehouse allies.

HOW WE GOT HERE

The controversy dates back to April 11, when commissioners and staff met for nearly two hours behind closed doors.

The stated reason for the executive session was legal; commissioners wanted to review confidential student data. The discussion drifted. Commissioners talked about the politics of closing charter schools — and what it would take to bring legislators around to the idea. They made disparaging remarks about Heritage Academy, its administrator and the community it serves. At one point, Reed expressed regret that the Jerome school remains open. (Reed later apologized, and tried to meet with Heritage officials, who rebuffed the invite.)

Responding to a series of complaints, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden’s office launched an investigation, and concluded that the commission probably violated Idaho’s open meeting law. The commission met one week later, admitted to breaking the law and received training from a Wasden deputy.

“There is an issue, and rightly so, of trust,” Reed said in a recent interview. “(You have to) behave yourself out of it.”

For critics, the problem transcends one illegal meeting. The commission has shown clear animosity towards some charter schools, and those schools’ leaders don’t want to respond to an adversarial agency, said Tom LeClaire, president of the Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families.

“It’s become a dead relationship, and that’s not what we want,” he said.

The contentious relationship has a lot to do with the commission’s role.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS — AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

Supported by four staffers, the commission’s seven volunteer members wield considerable power over charter schools.

The commission serves as authorizer for three-fourths of Idaho’s charter schools. Last year, more than 16,000 students attended charter schools under the commission’s bailiwick. That number will grow this fall, as four new commission-approved schools open their doors.

The 46-school portfolio includes large Treasure Valley charters, such as Sage International School in Boise and North Star Charter in Eagle, and smaller schools serving McCall, Gooding and the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. The commission oversees schools that post some of the state’s top test scores, and virtual schools serving a high proportion of at-risk students.

The Legislature created the commission in 2004, in order to give charter advocates another way to open a school. Colleges and universities can authorize a charter, but none ever has, and some school districts are uninterested in authorizing charters.

Reed is glad the commission provides a path to opening a new school. But at the same time, the commission faces a constant balancing act — between approving schools and providing oversight, and fostering innovation and protecting public money.

“We do not want the taxpayer throwing money at an idea that we’re pretty confident is going to fail,” he said.

But LeClaire says the commission has done a “terrible” job as an authorizer, forcing applicants to navigate a time-consuming paperwork process. He concedes that the commission has an oversight role, but says the group has abandoned its support role and talks, at least privately, about closing schools.

“This isn’t a regulatory agency,” he said.

……. continued on Idaho EdNews website.