Nearly 30 City Charter School Trustees Disqualified

Twenty seven trustees serving or who had served on the boards of nearly a dozen city charter schools have been declared ineligible by the state Department of Education because they failed to complete a required criminal background investigation.

The list includes a Roman Catholic monsignor as well as a majority of trustees at two schools, People’s Preparatory Charter School -- where four out of six trustees have been disqualified -- and Great Oaks Charter School, where five members have been deemed ineligible.

At least some of the disqualified trustees had already resigned from their boards before today's announcment. Msgr. William Linder, president of the New Community Corp, left the board of New Horizons charter school in December, his office said this afternoon.

Another man listed by the state as a New Horizons board member, Newton Richards, never served as a trustee, a New Community Corp. spokesperson said today.

The other charters where trustees have been disqualified are Adelaide L. Sanford, University Heights, Visions Academy, Lady Liberty Academy, Discovery, Roseville, Maria L. Vargos-Rogers and Greater Newark. 

All told, trustees at 11 of the city’s 17 charter schools have been disqualified, according to a list released today by the state Department of Education. Two other trustees listed, Christopher Wheat and Elaine Hughes at University Heights, have also been deemed ineligible but are no longer included among the trustees appearing on the school’s Web site.

Across the state, 186 school board members and charter school trustees did not complete the background exam by the Dec. 31 deadline.
 
The school board members and charter school trustees must vacate their positions immediately, according to state Dept. of Education spokesperson Allison Kobus.

Additional school board members or charter school trustees may yet have to forfeit their positions, according to Kobus. Some board members or trustees filled out the forms improperly or failed to pay the required fee, she said in a news release.

The background checks were required by the New Jersey general assembly in legislation passed last year, to require school board members and charter school trustees to meet the same standards required of school teachers. Along with the background checks, the law also bars those convicted of any of a broad range of crimes from serving on school boards or as charter school trustees.

If disqualified board members or trustees show up for meetings, they could be charged with a fourth degree crime.

New Jersey is apparently the only state to require the background examinations.

This story will be updated as more infornation becomes available.