Owner of failed FL private school facing fraud complaints.. applies to start new charter.

[madfloridian]

Wendy Alexander left her private school, Hand in Hand Academy, leaving the parents holding the bag for tuition.

She went to Milwaukee where she was hired to be a public school principal. Guess they decided background checks not needed.

Then WFLA in Tampa did the research for them, and they let her go. Last I heard she was out of a job but still getting paid while they investigated more.

Now she is back in the Tampa area trying to open a charter school for accelerated learning. The Hillsborough County school board will vote on this soon.

Founder of failed Lutz school loses Milwaukee job

TAMPA --

The career of an embattled private school owner who left Hillsborough County to start a new job as a public school principal in Milwaukee has taken another twist. According to a statement released by the Milwaukee school system late Thursday, "Wendy Alexander is no longer an employee of Milwaukee public schools."

Alexander's departure was effective Oct. 21, said Milwaukee schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin. That was 11 days after a News Channel 8 investigation revealed that Alexander had left Florida owing bankruptcy creditors $3.3 million.

It turns out that "economic crimes detectives are reviewing at least four fraud complaints filed by parents whose children attended Hand In Hand Academy."

It's get better. That lady has real nerve.

Wednesday, News Channel 8 reported that Alexander now has a pending application for a public charter school in Hillsborough County.

School district records show she wants to start the Academy for Accelerated Learning to serve 290 students in kindergarten through fifth grade with an annual budget of $1.6 million.

The Hillsborough school board is expected to decide whether to approve Alexander's charter school in December.

That is unbelievable.

Here is some background on Hand in Hand Academy.

Parents were blindsided when the Hand in Hand Academy announced in an e-mail that it was shutting down Sept. 16, seven years after it first went into business and four weeks after opening for the new semester.

Some say they paid registration and tuition as late as mid-July under pressure from Principal Wendy Alexander, even after Alexander lost her bid for bankruptcy protection to stave off foreclosure.

"She was telling us one thing and turning around and it was totally something totally different," said Michael Hanke, a financial planner, who says he wouldn't have enrolled his child if he'd known about money problems. "She made you want to trust her."

Now we shall see if the county will even consider letting her start a charter school after all that.

Nothing surprises me.

[madfloridian]

1. More on this story...parents she harmed financially can't believe it either

That she would have the nerve to try to open another school is stunning.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/education-news/2011/oct/27/menewso1-founder-of-failed-school-now-wants-to-ope-ar-298549/

"This time, Wendy Alexander wants to use $1.6 million a year in taxpayer money to operate a public charter school called the Academy for Accelerated Learning, serving students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Parents who had children enrolled at Alexander's bankrupt Hand In Hand Academy say they can't believe it.

"No, never," said Marc Medeiros. "I mean, that just shows what disregard she has for what she's done, and she really believes she can get away with it."

Medeiros showed News Channel 8 tuition checks totaling more than $1,300 written to Hand In Hand before it shut down in September, four weeks into the new school year."

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. So, is this a case of absconding with funds, or simply a case of

extreme financial ineptitude?

Did she apply the last-minute tuition payments to the school's debts, or did she take the money and run?

[madfloridian]

3. Here's the Trib article on it.

They do not come right out and say it, but I gather there might be some of that. Her bid for bankruptcy failed....and the money has got to be somewhere.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/education-news/2011/oct/11/8/tuition-payments-gone-as-lutz-school-shuts-down-ar-271012/

[madfloridian]

4. Parent filed a criminal complaint. Why is the district even considering her petition??

They should not even be thinking about it.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/education-news/2011/oct/19/menewso3-parent-files-criminal-complaint-against-l-ar-272961/

"LUTZ --

One of the many parents who say they prepaid thousands of dollars in tuition for the now-closed Hand in Hand Academy in Lutz has filed a criminal fraud complaint with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

"I feel like I was robbed," said Mary Masher, of Lutz. "You can't take somebody's money and then not give them something for it."

In May, Masher wrote Hand In Hand Academy a check for $1,986 to cover half of the fall semester tuition for her 3-year-old son.

"They cashed my check the same day I wrote it," Masher said.

The private school suddenly closed its doors Sept. 16, less than four weeks after the start of the fall semester. That left dozens of parents scrambling to get their children into other schools and wondering whether they would get refunds for prepaid tuition. Masher filed a fraud complaint with the sheriff's office Thursday, seeking to recover her $1,986."