After months of delay, a judge in Baton Rouge is poised to decide whether the new management of Impact Charter School in Baker can seize full financial control of the small elementary school from founder Chakesha Scott.
State District Judge Ron Johnson also is set to rule on whether to give the school’s new leaders control of perhaps millions of dollars sitting in bank accounts of two affiliated nonprofit groups associated with Scott. The plaintiffs claim Scott wrongly diverted the money from school funds and later used it for personal expenses.
Meanwhile, a recent court filing in the case confirms that, in addition to her civil troubles, Scott is facing a federal criminal investigation into her management of Impact.
For her part, Scott and related parties have filed several state and federal lawsuits seeking to unseat the new management and restore her and the school’s previous board of directors to power.
In one of those lawsuits, Friends of Impact Charter School, one of the two nonprofits at issue, is suing the new management because it has refused to pay rent, which it argues is exorbitant.
The Friends group, which serves as the landlord for the 4815 Lavey Lane campus, served the new management an eviction notice in early April. That prompted the new leaders to immediately relocate operations around the corner to former Baker Heights Elementary, reducing the rent expense from $130,000 to $20,000 a month.
The Friends suit, which is pending before ad hoc Judge Johnell Mathews, seeks not just rent from March and April but rent for the remaining 569 months on the 50-year lease. That comes to almost $74 million.
Scott founded Impact Charter School in 2014. The school has more than 400 students in grades prekindergarten to eight and enjoys a B letter grade from the state for its academic performance. Impact is set to start its 12th year in operation on Friday when students return from summer break.
Accusations after audit
The change in management was prompted by a damning audit conducted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office, which was released publicly Feb. 10. The lengthy audit accused Scott of using the school to personally enrich herself and her family.
Eleven days later, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE, voted to replace the school’s board of directors. The newly appointed board moved quickly to suspend, and later fire, Scott. However, she has refused to step aside, arguing that the new board was illegally given control of Impact.
The new board filed suit March 3, seeking immediate action to kick Scott out of school operations. The suit claimed that Scott has been “knowingly and intentionally” blocking access to a range of Impact’s financial records as well as to “substantial” funds held in accounts managed by Friends of Impact Charter School and another group, Charter School Athletic Association Inc., to which Scott is also tied.
Five months later, the plaintiffs are finally on the verge of making their case to Judge Johnson.
Johnson held a hearing Monday afternoon, which is to resume Thursday, where he will decide whether or not to issue a preliminary injunction barring Scott from Impact Charter affairs.
On Monday, Johnson denied procedural objections lodged by the two of the defendants. Johnson plans to resolve an objection from a third defendant on Thursday before the plaintiffs can make their case.
Legal showdown
That Scott’s troubles could lead to a federal criminal investigation has long been a possibility.
The federal criminal investigation was confirmed in a July 22 court filing by Jenifer Schaye, an attorney for the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office.
Schaye’s motion seeks to quash a subpoena filed days earlier by Scott. That subpoena demanded a long list of records amassed during the legislative audit. Daryl Purpera has been hired by Scott to scrutinize those records in order to come up with a fresh analysis and rebuttal of that audit. Purpera is a forensic accountant who served as the state’s legislative auditor for 11 years before the current legislative auditor, Mike Waguespack.
Among the several reasons Schaye offered in her motion for halting the subpoena, one is that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baton Rouge is asking her to.
"Additionally, the subject matter of the Audit is currently part of an ongoing criminal investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Louisiana, has requested that the (legislative auditor’s office) not disclose its work papers,” Schaye wrote.
John McLindon, a Baton Rouge criminal defense attorney retained by Scott, acknowledged the investigation, but said all he has seen is a couple of subpoenas issued by a federal grand jury a couple of months ago seeking documents that were subsequently produced.
"Since then, it's been pretty quiet," McLindon said.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Advocate on Tuesday that “pursuant to (U.S. Department of Justice) policy, we are prohibited from confirming, denying, or otherwise commenting on any potential ongoing investigations.”
Michelle Craig, an attorney for Impact Charter School, also would not comment.
“We do not have any information regarding the status of any ongoing criminal investigation,” Craig said. “However, we also cannot comment on any ongoing investigations.”
The U.S. Attorney's Office received a copy of the Feb. 10 legislative audit. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore told The Advocate in February that he had spoken with then U.S. Attorney Roland Gathe, who told him that he planned to take the case.
Gathe, however, was fired soon after by the incoming Trump Administration, along with U.S. attorneys across the country. Ellison Travis was named acting U.S. Attorney in June. Kurt Wall has been nominated as the permanent U.S. Attorney, but his nomination has yet to clear the U.S. Senate.
