This is a very strange series of events about a private academy that changed its name from Bradenton Prep Academy to Prep Learning Academy. It faced foreclosure, is locked out of its building, is meeting where it can.
Parents pay $10,000 to $12,000 a year for their students to attend this private school. It also gets public taxpayer money to pay for vouchers for disabled students to attend.
Besides receiving $10,000 to $12,000 in tuition fees, Bradenton Prep also receives taxpayer money from McKay Scholarships. It's given to students with disabilities. Department of Education officials say Bradenton Prep will receive its first quarterly check on Wednesday September 1 for $25,791.50. DOE officials say they issued the McKay Scholarships funds before knowing the school changed location.
But the school stands to lose that money; after the school foreclosed in July it changed address and never notified the state.
On August 16, the DOE issued a notice of non compliance to Bradenton Prep. The DOE is giving Bradenton Prep until mid- September to comply with a background check on Lamprecht, and a fire and health inspection for the new school location on Cortez Road. It's the same commercial building for the new Prep Learning Academy a building still needing a permit to use as a school a permit Lamprecht told county officials will be for K-5 grades only.
Yet 10 News spots more than 60 kids boarding charter buses Tuesday morning for a field trip, and more than half appear older than 5th graders. We ask Lamprecht, "Where do you plan to take these kids after today?" But once again our question is ignored.
Bradenton Prep receives taxpayer dollarsWell, it looks like they found where they took the students. To the Holiday Inn Express hotel. Tampa Bay 10 News has been following the story, and they found them there.
10 News found students attending class Wednesday morning at the Holiday Inn Express at 4450 47th Street. Parents and a large tour bus drop off dozens of students around 8am. The hotel's general manager Randy Paradine tells Ten New the school signed a contract two rent two meeting rooms for three weeks through September 24th. Paradine says each meeting room is allowed a maximum of 50 people. Manatee County records show BPA has 123 students confirmed to attend classes.
10 News checked with city planning officials. Bradenton's planning director Tim Polk says the hotel is violating the city's zoning ordinance. "It's kind of bizarre," says Polk. He adds, "The bottom line is they would need a special permit to make this happen."
..."The city's Compliance Manager Volker Reiss released this statement to Ten News:
"On September 8, 2010 at 10AM we were called to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 4450 47th Street West. Our code enforcement officers and a fire inspector found that Bradenton Prep was holding regular classes at that facility. The property is zoned "Suburban Commercial Corridor" and this zoning designation requires a Special Use Permit for school use. The property owner does not have such a permit for this location. Our code enforcement officers communicated to them that they can finish classes today so that the disruption for the students is minimized. However; the facility must not hold any further classes until a Special Use permit is obtained."
Bradenton city officials order Bradenton Prep to vacate hotel classroomsIt looks like officials may actually start making the school comply with rules. I think that is a good thing. After all we hear so much about holding public schools and the teachers accountable...so it's about time.
According to Florida's Department of Education, all private schools must register with the state and receive an identification number. DOE officials say The Prep Learning Academy has not done this.
DOE officials also say if BPA has done a name change, the state requires documentation of fiscal soundness in the form of surety bond or letter of credit. If it is a new school, DOE will remind The Prep Learning Academy of its legal requirement to register with the state.
A DOE spokesperson says even though BPA has not notified the state of a name change, the DOE's Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice issued a notice of noncompliance on August 16, 2010. The notice requires a Level II background screening for the new owner as well as a current fire inspection, health inspection, and change of address notification.
State officials say BPA has 30 days to comply. If the school fails to comply, the office will go forward with a suspension from participating in the scholarship program. According the DOE officials, BPA is currently eligible for publicly funded scholarships such as McKay and Florida Tax Credit Scholarships. Records show no scholarship money has been issued to the school for the 2010-2011 school year but those checks do not go out to parents until September 1.
Bradenton Prep This school has really gotten away with a lot of things. It has been discovered they are playing overaged students on their football team, traveling around the country with them. Yet they owe many teachers back pay and are not settling.
Bradenton Preparatory Academy owes back pay to some teachers, lost its campus to foreclosure and does not have a permit to operate a school. And yet, the financially strapped private school, now known as the Prep Learning Academy, still has a football team that has played games in Texas and New Orleans and has another scheduled in Minnesota.
Beyond that, the team's roster includes players that have already graduated from local high schools. The coach of the school's next scheduled opponent has canceled the game, fearing his team could be injured playing what he believes are over-age players.
A teacher owed back pay speaks out.
The revelation about the traveling football team has outraged former teachers who say they are owed as much as $25,000 in back pay.
"I find it amazing that they can come up with all this money to send a team to Texas but they couldn't pay us," said former teacher Mary Conway, one of 15 former staff preparing to sue the school for unpaid salary. "I believe they have money. They just don't want to pay the former teachers."
Priority football. Teachers not paid.If schools get taxpayer money they should be held to account. The city should not have to follow an expensive private academy around and order them not to use hotels meeting rooms as classrooms.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
