After a series of news stories about questionable spending by IDEA Public Schools, a state lawmaker wants Texas to conduct a “comprehensive audit” of the Weslaco-based charter school system.
State Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, wrote a letter to the Texas Education Agency and the Texas State Auditor’s Office on Tuesday, asking them to conduct a “joint financial audit” of IDEA.
Canales said news stories about questionable spending by IDEA — including a $900,000 severance package for CEO Tom Torkelson — convinced him to request an audit.
“There’s nothing in the myriad of behavior that IDEA has exhibited and the actions that they’ve decided to pursue that would ever be acceptable in the realm of public education,” Canales said.
Asked about the letter, IDEA responded with a statement.
“IDEA strives to be responsive whenever IDEA’s public and philanthropic funders have questions. IDEA’s finances are reviewed annually by the Texas Education Agency, as are all charter school networks, and we have received an ‘A’ rating five years in a row,” according to the statement. “We have openly acknowledged that some of IDEA’s past spending was not sufficiently connected to our core mission. Over the past year, IDEA’s board and CEO have taken significant steps to ensure that every expenditure advances our scholars’ learning and achievements. Among other actions, the Board has engaged special legal counsel and forensic accountants to do an in-depth review of expenditures. This review commenced last month and is ongoing.”
Canales said reports about extravagant spending by IDEA executives, who traveled on private planes and in chauffeured limousines, deeply concerned him.
IDEA also agreed to pay for CFO Wyatt J. Truscheit, who resigned in July, to commute from California to Texas.
“The reality is it wasn’t one particular thing,” Canales said. “It’s their behavior in the aggregate.”
Documents obtained by Channel 5 News under the Texas Public Information Act show IDEA spent thousands on charter flights for Torkelson and IDEA co-founder JoAnn Gama.
In February 2019, for example, they flew from McAllen to Austin on a chartered plane, according to an invoice from McAllen-based Western Flyers Air Service. IDEA paid nearly $4,400 for the trip.
While headquartered in Weslaco, the charter school system operates campuses throughout Texas.
IDEA had nearly 50,000 students in October 2019, according to data published by the state. Texas funds IDEA on a per-pupil basis.
“When it comes to their finances, they should operate like a public school because they say they’re one,” Canales said. “If you say you’re a public school, you should be held to the same standard as a public school.”
Along with taxpayer money allocated by the state, IDEA receives support from private donors and foundations.
Canales said IDEA would not be able to attract private donors without public money.
“In fact, when you involve public funds in anything, you’re in for a penny, you’re in for a pound,” Canales said. “You have to play by the rules and let everyone see what you’re doing.”
IDEA, though, is already conducting an internal audit.
In mid-July, when Superintendent JoAnn Gama announced Truscheit’s resignation, she told employees that IDEA would ask an independent auditor to “review all departments and functions so we can be certain that IDEA is functioning as proper stewards of the funds and resources we are entrusted with.”
Bad behavior by IDEA executives shouldn’t detract from the hard work of teachers and students, Canales said.
“I cannot stand before anybody and say IDEA is terrible or IDEA is a bad school. I can’t say those things,” Canales said. “I can say that the way they operate at their top levels deserves an audit.”
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State lawmaker calls for 'comprehensive audit' of IDEA Public Schools - KRGV
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