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Within the spring of 2024, monetary challenges at Bethel Park Elementary prompted the mayor’s workplace to stipulate choices for its future — together with a partnership with neighboring constitution college Victory Faculty Prep.
The college’s board didn’t need to try this on the time, in line with the college’s former principal. As an alternative, the college labored to reply to issues from Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Workplace of Schooling Innovation, Bethel Park’s authorizer.
Now issues are coming to a head. OEI nonetheless has issues about Bethel Park’s monetary standing and will revoke the college’s constitution subsequent month, a transfer that might lead the college to shut. However the college says it’s proven OEI that its fiscal well being is on the mend. And it seems that there’s one other massive change within the works: Victory Faculty Prep is within the course of of shopping for Bethel Park’s constructing.
All that has thrown the destiny of Bethel Park — which enrolls about 225 college students whose futures hold on OEI’s mid-February choice — into doubt. And a few consider the chain of occasions represents an unwelcome try to power the college to merge with a close-by competitor.
“It does form of really feel like a conclusion has already been made,” mentioned former Bethel Park principal Jennica Adkins, who mentioned there was strain from OEI on Bethel Park to merge with Victory Faculty Prep this college yr. “And there’s not a ton that we are able to do about that.”
OEI acknowledged approaching Victory Faculty Prep to “gauge their curiosity and talent to offer help” to Bethel Park Elementary.
“Constitution college authorizers have a duty to work with faculties to anticipate points earlier than they intensify to make sure stability for college students and accountable stewardship of public {dollars},” the workplace mentioned in an announcement final month in response to questions from Chalkbeat.
OEI additionally mentioned Bethel Park has utilized for constitution renewal after “years of declining monetary well being and amid months of intensifying money movement issues.”
As an authorizer of each Bethel Park and Victory Faculty Prep, OEI oversees faculties which were granted permission to open by the Indianapolis Constitution College Board. It additionally has the energy to shutter faculties for failing to satisfy sure requirements.
“High quality authorizing practices encourage authorizers to train skilled judgment and interact in efforts to drawback clear up when wanted to make sure good outcomes for college students,” OEI mentioned in its assertion.
In response, Bethel Park’s board is taking a look at choices to buy the constructing as a substitute, utilizing an choice in its present lease with a department of the Constitution Colleges Improvement Company that funds amenities for constitution faculties. Bethel Park’s present constitution expires on the finish of this college yr, however the college is in search of approval from a unique authorizer than OEI to maintain its doorways open. Nevertheless, if their constitution is revoked subsequent month, state regulation would require a brand new authorizer to hunt approval from the State Board of Schooling to permit the college to proceed working.
Jade Welch, Bethel Park’s present principal, mentioned she is working exhausting to deal with the issues from the mayor’s workplace whereas sustaining the college’s imaginative and prescient and group.
“I simply need to keep my college and do what I must do,” Welch mentioned.
Victory Faculty Prep’s board of administrators didn’t point out whether or not it intends to take over Bethel Park, though it pressured that Bethel Park’s destiny is as much as the college and OEI to resolve. The board mentioned it desires college students within the space to have entry to high-quality schooling, and that it was “open” to the concept of offering “partnership help” to Bethel Park.
“If our present assets and capability can ease monetary pressures that might threaten such entry for college students and households in our area, we’re compelled to take motion,” Victory Faculty Prep’s board mentioned in an announcement.
College protests potential lack of constitution, citing enhancements
In Might 2023, the mayor’s workplace gave Bethel Park a discover of noncompliance — the least pressing stage within the authorizer’s efficiency enchancment framework — over its 2021-22 ILEARN and IREAD scores and its attendance fee. The college’s ILEARN scores have been under these of scholars in close by assigned faculties or comparable faculties, the workplace mentioned. The college’s IREAD move fee of 62% and its attendance fee of 87.6% additionally didn’t meet the workplace’s efficiency customary.
One yr later, the college obtained a discover of deficiency over its money reserves and year-end deficits that the workplace escalated from “average” to “excessive” concern.
The college has led to an working deficit yearly since fiscal 2022, in line with audit studies the college submitted to the state. The newest audit from final yr expresses “substantial doubt” concerning the college’s potential to remain open. And for the reason that 2020-21 college yr, the college had not met OEI’s necessities for protecting a minimum of 45 days of money reserve so as to meet monetary obligations within the case of an emergency, in line with OEI.
However college leaders say they’ve tried to deal with the authorizer’s issues. And in an e mail to OEI final July, Bethel Park’s board referred to as the authorizer’s’s escalating issues “unwarranted” as a result of college’s optimistic money steadiness, and mentioned that “the college’s monetary place is now not at excessive danger.”
Its first discover of deficiency from OEI was largely on account of bookkeeping errors which were addressed, the college mentioned in a Dec. 19 response to the authorizer. Within the first few months of this college yr, the college spent much less cash and introduced in additional income than anticipated, Bethel Park famous. It believes it can construct up 40 to 45 days of money reserves by the tip of the fiscal yr.
And its enrollment of 225 this yr was above preliminary projections.
“We have now discovered from and responded to previous monetary errors and oversight and really feel assured not solely in our potential to complete out this college yr, but in addition to ascertain an ongoing monetary place which ought to encourage confidence in renewal of our constitution,” the college wrote.
Bethel Park has additionally minimize prices to shore up its funds, together with ending a $150,000 annual teaching and consulting companies settlement with the PilotED Basis, which was led by the college’s founder, Jacob Allen.
The muse, which ended operations in December, offered assist with grant writing, authorized help, board recruiting, and training, mentioned Adkins, the college’s former principal. The muse nonetheless offered six months of labor professional bono after the expiration of its contract final June, she mentioned.
The college’s third grade IREAD outcomes have additionally jumped to a 72% move fee in 2024. Its attendance fee, nonetheless, stays just under the 90% that OEI requested it attain by summer season 2024, and its ILEARN outcomes have been stagnant.
OEI mentioned in its assertion that even with the correction of the bookkeeping error, the college nonetheless had posted years of declining money reserves, comparatively sluggish enrollment development, and excessive month-to-month bills.
“All through the spring, summer season, and fall, Bethel Park needed to right a number of errors in submitted monetary paperwork and failed to satisfy a number of monetary reporting deadlines,” OEI mentioned. “In yr six of a faculty’s constitution, a robust authorizer ought to count on competent monetary reporting and administration.
Victory Faculty Prep, which the mayor’s workplace described as a faculty in “sturdy monetary standing,” didn’t disclose how a lot it’s paying for the constructing. The college had increased charges of proficiency on the 2024 ILEARN examination than Bethel Park, and a barely increased passing fee on the IREAD examination.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township faculties for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
