Accused in a state audit last month of personally enriching herself and her family, Chakesha Scott finds herself on leave from the institution she founded, Impact Charter School in Baker.
Now she's fighting to regain control of the school she started more than a decade ago.
Scott’s exile began Feb. 24 when a new, state-appointed school board of directors moved quickly to freeze out Scott and her husband, Eric, the school’s principal, placing both on paid leave.
Scott has run the 400-plus student school since it opened north of Baton Rouge. Her management of the school, however, was called into question by a damning state investigative audit of the school's operations.
Torrence Williams, president of the new board, whose day job is as an administrator with a state organization of educators, has authority to sign new contracts for Impact Charter and rescind old ones as he sees fit. He has put this broad authority to quick use.
On Thursday, the Scotts issued a statement complaining Williams changed door locks, created new digital account passwords, disabled security cameras, fired and replaced school vendors, threatened staff with retaliation if they speak to the Scotts, and “attempted to seize the school’s bank accounts” thereby delaying employees getting paid.
Williams said last week the payroll issues arose after the school’s bank flagged “potentially fraudulent interactions,” and that the two parties have been working to resolve the matter.
Williams and six other new board members were appointed to take control of the embattled charter school on Feb. 21. After a unanimous decision by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE, the agency removed Impact's previous board of directors.
Scott has filed suit in federal court to reverse the state board of education's decision, and that suit is awaiting action.
Four parents of students with children at Impact have filed a similar suit in state court, saying the state education board did not follow the state’s open meetings law and failed to provide adequate due process to the ousted Impact board members. That suit is scheduled for a hearing Thursday at 9 a.m. before State District Judge Don Johnson.
Charter schools are public schools run privately via charters, or contracts.
The latest events represent a dramatic reversal of fortune for Impact. Just two months ago, the state education board had agreed to renew Impact Charter School's charter for six more years through 2031, largely on the strength of the school's B academic letter grade.
The 173-page state audit, released Feb. 10, accused Scott of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school and a related private foundation to pay for personal travel, a car lease, an in-ground swimming pool at her house and more.
The report, prepared by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, also found evidence of a potential kickback scheme with a school contractor and questioned Scott’s decision to divert more than $1.5 million to Friends of Impact Charter School. That's the name of a private philanthropic foundation that Scott also leads. It is supposed to support the 4815 Lavey Lane school financially, but auditors claim it never has.
An attorney for Impact issued a 17-page written rebuttal, claiming the state audit is “defamatory” and full of inaccuracies. State legislative auditors stand by their work and have made no changes to their report. Knowing the state's audit was forthcoming, Scott had sued the state Feb. 7 trying to block state officials from releasing it publicly, but ultimately lost on procedural grounds.
The dissolution, or “reconstitution,” of the board of a charter school like the ouster of Impact's board, is a new remedy the Louisiana Legislature added to state law last year.
It stops short of outright canceling a charter, what’s known as “revocation.” The state education board has rarely revoked a school’s charter over the nearly three decades charter schools have operated in Louisiana.
