VA State Police Investigating Allegations of Embezzlement at PHSSA
Virginia State Police are investigating an allegation of embezzlement at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, a charter school in South Richmond that is completing its first year of operation.
State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller confirmed Wednesday that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Richmond field office is conducting the investigation.
M. Susan Martin, former treasurer of the charter school, said she approached state police through an intermediary in March about her concerns over management of student activity funds controlled by the school’s principal and Richmond Public Schools. About the same time, Martin raised concerns about the funds in a letter on March 14 to Richmond Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon and urged her to audit the two bank accounts opened by Principal Pamela L. Boyd.
When RPS was asked about the investigation:
Felicia Cosby, spokeswoman for Richmond Public Schools, said of the investigation, “This is news to us.”
Wouldn’t RPS have to be helping with the investigation? Very confusing.
Update 6/9: RTD has added some details to their original story.
UGGGHHHH.
I don’t know what the problem is exactly, but there is definitely a problem at the school. I need it to succeed, and I’ve given a lot of my time to it, and I just don’t understand why it seems to be falling apart already…
I believe the school will survive this. My daughter had a great year at PHSSA. I am not taking her out of the school and look forward to next year.
The board of the school needs to do something soon to ease the fears of the parents. I am concerned that the general public is trashing the school, with not understanding that the children had a great year.
Parents looking at placing their children at PHSSA next year can be assured that their children will have a wonderful experience.
None of this has to do with the teachers at the school, or the students, or the board. It has to do with the principal and her (mis)management of funds under her control. The commenters on the T-D article seem to lack basic reading comprehension, actually. The board saw a problem and jumped on it. If they hadn’t, I’m sure the RPS administration would have triumphantly announced that they had discovered the issue, and isn’t it a good thing the little school that could has “professionals” watching over it? Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
Can Boyd if she broke the rules, stop trash-talking the school, and hire a new administrator that’s not from RPS.
I’ve noticed something recently – if you gather up all of the press related to the school this year and sort it into good press and bad press, the good press stack is filled with stories about the teachers, programs they put together, parents volunteering, and the community working together. The bad press stack consists of the board’s lack of communication with the outside world, and RPS butting heads with them. In the last week, the bad press pile just got quite a bit larger, with the principal’s investigation and stories of a mass exodus of the teaching staff after the year is over.
The first decision is the easiest – put the principal on “paid administrative leave”, since she surely can’t be fired [being a public employee and all], and replace her with a dynamic, exciting person who will fight the good fight and rally a team of professionals and community members behind them. The board’s issues will work themselves out, and RPS will eventually learn that they have to treat the school with some respect.
Jennifer, there are additional issues going on internally that you may not have heard about. In addition to the money issue, many of the teachers have been talking about a lot of intimidation from the principal and many are leaving.
I think JM’s idea is a sound one. Regardless of whether she is guilty of anything at all, she has become a lightning rod that is damaging the school. I think a tough decision on her part or the board’s part must happen. If she really cared about the school and its families, I think she’d resign.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Good ole RPS.
It hasn’t changed in the last 22 years, since my kids went through the system. It really has not. That good pile bad pile, has always been the same.
So keep on it families, I commend you in all your efforts because 2 things will hold true. Aside from the parental involvement in a school, the leader of administration of that school will mean EVERYTHING to its success.
If there are doubts about this principal and she is intimidating teachers, and I personally witnessed just that at Open HS with the late Priscilla Green, do everything you can to demand a new principal.