Parents await outcome
of probe of charter school’s execs

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The Philadelphia Academy Charter School showed off its best side last Thursday night.
Some two-dozen high school students enthusiastically and expertly acted out Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a dramatic play examining the tragedy of the Salem, Mass., witch trials of 1692.
And for two hours, not a word was uttered about Philadelphia Academy’s own burning controversy — how suspected fiscal mismanagement, nepotism and conflicts of interest among its top administrators have jeopardized the school’s charter.
According to parents in the audience, the successful production — which featured many special-needs students — was a shining example of why Philadelphia Academy should be allowed to remain open, even without its suspended co-founder, Brien Gardiner, and chief executive officer, Kevin O’Shea.
The school’s future remained in limbo early this week as the city’s School Reform Commission continued to postpone a decision on a five-year renewal of the 8-year-old school’s charter, pending the completion of an independent investigation by the inspector general for the city’s public schools.
Philadelphia Academy, with locations at 1700 Tomlinson Road and 11000 Roosevelt Blvd., serves about 1,200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The investigation is expected to examine the publicly funded school’s financial records, including compensation paid to Gardiner, O’Shea and at least one contracting firm in which both have a fiscal interest. No deadline has been given for the investigation. An SRC vote on the charter renewal has not been scheduled.
The Philadelphia Academy board, which, according to charter-school law, is responsible for overseeing the school’s operations, has suspended O’Shea and Gardiner with pay. Neither man responded to telephone and e-mail messages requesting their comments.
“I would like to find out what the whole outcome is going to be,” said Patti Crane, mother of senior student David Crane. “My biggest concern is education, and (kids) are getting a great education here.”
“I’d like to see the whole thing resolved. I think this school is very, very important,” agreed Larry Heller, father of senior Brandon Heller.
Crane, Heller and even the harshest critics of Philadelphia Academy’s top administrators and board generally agree that closing the school would be a big blow to local education. Since its 1999 inception, the school has developed a reputation for particular success with learning-disabled students, although it offers a comprehensive curriculum.
“My son was in learning-disabled classes at Disston (Elementary) for eight years and graduated at a pre-k reading level,” Crane said. “And he’s graduating (from Philadelphia Academy) this year on an eleventh-grade reading level. Socially, they deal with every aspect of a child’s needs.”
Another Philadelphia Academy parent, Helene Houser, whose son John is a senior, heard many similar testimonials during a tense April 17 meeting of the school’s board attended by hundreds of parents and other stakeholders. But she feels classroom excellence has been achieved in spite of deficiencies at the top.
“I said, ‘We already know that the faculty are the stars of the school,’” Houser recalled telling the board. “The disgrace is instead of working on the retention of these wonderful teachers and making the school a national standard, you’re using the school to line your pockets.”
The six members of the board serve in a volunteer capacity. The board president, Rose DiLacqua, initially agreed to an interview with the Northeast Times, then canceled, explaining that she did not want to “compromise” the inspector general’s investigation or an internal investigation commissioned by the board.
Like many in the school community, Houser learned specifics about the inner workings of Philadelphia Academy from a news article published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on April 15.
The article reported that O’Shea had collected a salary in excess of $200,000 for the 2006-07 academic year despite having neither a college degree nor educational certification. By contrast, the average principal in the city’s public schools makes about $135,000.
Prior to being named CEO in 2006, O’Shea served as the school’s director of operations under then-CEO Gardiner. O’Shea and Gardiner’s professional connection in the education field dates back to 2000 when O’Shea, a former police officer, was hired as an uncertified carpentry teacher at another charter school co-founded by Gardiner, Franklin Towne High in the Frankford Arsenal.
The Inquirer further reported that Gardiner collected a $164,500 salary as CEO in 2005-06 while drawing an additional $60,000 to serve in the same position at a third local charter school that he co-founded, Northwood Academy.
The same article also revealed that O’Shea’s sister made more than $103,000 and daughter almost $20,000 on the Philadelphia Academy payroll last year, while his wife made $110,000 as director of operations for a non-profit special-education consulting firm created by Gardiner and contracted by numerous city charter schools.
Houser, like other parents, thinks that major changes are warranted for the continued success of the school.
“I want Gardiner and O’Shea fired. I want the board cleared out and the parents to vote every year on the board,” she said. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com