UPDATE 4/19/2023: Renaissance Charter School, Inc., sent a letter to LCS Superintendent Rocky Hanna Wednesday, stating they will address the violations Governor's Charter was accused of committing with the school's principal and staff.
Renaissance Charter School, Inc., serves as the governing board for Governor's Charter.
The governing board's chairman Ken Haiko expressed to Hanna they are thankful for LCS working with them to finalize any outstanding issues.
"We appreciate you giving us the opportunity to carefully review our plan and current progress in addressing concerns about Governors Charter Academy," Haiko wrote in the letter. "We advised your staff of the status of our efforts and our plan to bring the few remaining items into compliance."
Haiko says they look forward to continuing a positive and collaborative relationship with Leon County School District in providing a great educational option students.
INITIAL STORY
Governor's Charter is being accused of 9 violations of their agreement with Leon County Schools. The letter alleged that the school is not doing basic tasks, like reporting grades for students.
"We got into this profession because we believe that it is important for students regardless of what school they attend, to receive the best education possible," Leon County Schools Spokesperson Chris Petley said. "All we are trying to do is make sure schools are living up to what they promised those families and students and what they have agreed to by contract."
Petley said Governor's Charter Schools has broken rules that lead the county to worry about the educational experience of students.
After these violations came to light through information provided to LCS by the school, Superintendent Rocky Hanna wrote a letter with these allegations to the school on April 12.
"Instances where attendance isn't being taken. There are some students that don't have grades, not just for this semester but for the year. That just can't happen," Petley said. "There are issues with the mental heath coordinator and their reporting of incidents on campus. These are all things that all of our schools, traditional public schools, would be held accountable immediately."
Other than grades and attendance, concerns include lack of school law enforcement officers, no employment of a mental health coordinator, missing Title 1 documentation and more.
It is not clear what the consequence for these violations will be for Governor's Charter.
This is not the only charter school in the city that has received a letter from Hanna.
Tallahassee Classical School was sent a letter in late March about their alleged failure to follow rules outlined by the charter agreement.
With this scandal and issues with Governor's Charter, Petley said this shows that LCS is the best option for families in the area.
"We are all about competition and obviously accountability, but our schools are top notch. Parents are welcome to come tour our schools any time," Petley said.
ABC 27's team reached out to Governor's Charter Academy and their management team, Charter Schools USA. We did not receive a reply to our request for comment at the time of this broadcast.
Petley said Governor's Charter has five days to respond to the allegations sent in the letter.
If they don't answer, they can expect another letter from Superintendent Hanna.
