Dena Levitz, The Examiner
2008-03-13 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

Tri-Community Public Charter School is set to relinquish its charter at the end of the academic year, the latest in a series of D.C. charter schools that have recently run into trouble.

During a performance review of Tri-Community, D.C. Public Charter School Board analysts discovered serious shortcomings in the school’s leadership structure, financial management and enrollment patterns. As a result, the board put the charter on warning status,giving the leadership a year to address the problems.

According to board spokeswoman Nona Richardson,school leaders surrendered their management of the school last week.

Projected to have 200 students, Tri-Community has only about 130 enrolled. Leaders also have yet to substantiate claims of rising test scores, according to charter board documents.

Calls to the school’s board of trustees were not returned this week.

According to a letter from the board’s director, the Rev. Frank Tucker, Tri-Community is in discussions with William Doar Jr. Public Charter School to run the school.

“While this is a bitter pill to swallow, we remain focused on doing what is best for our children,” Tucker wrote.

Other charter schools have also encountered recent financial or academic difficulties.

Hope Academy shut its doors a month after opening last fall because of dismal enrollment.

At 250-student Washington Academy Public Charter School, school leaders failed to pay taxes for years and were projected to finish the year $1.2 million in the hole. The school was slated to close until Howard Road Academy administrators were selected to take over.

Two more campuses — D.C. Preparatory Academy and Maya Angelou Public Charter — are in warning status.

Since 1998, 14 D.C. charter schools have closed. There are currently 55 charters operating in the city.

Charter opponents see the shutdowns as a reflection of the ease with which operators are allowed to open schools.

Mary Levy, with the Washington Lawyers Committee, said what sets charter schools apart is the increased autonomy and accountability, meaning closures are a necessary evil.

Many recent shutdowns were schools authorized by the former D.C. Public Schools board.

“The board was not careful, especially in the early days, and did not have the staff or expertise to do the job of vetting, then oversight,” Levy said.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com