NCT District May Revoke School's Charter
...The district could argue that the alleged charter violations are so serious that the academy should be closed while the appeal works its way through the system, he added. The district has evidence that the school's board members appear to have repeatedly met in violation of the state's open public meeting laws, he said.

An 18-page report issued by the district Thursday states that the school's board "routinely held meetings at times and in locations not noticed to the public, and on more than one occasion deliberately began meetings privately an hour before the district's representative to the (academy's) board was told to arrive."...

Follow up:

From the Report:

A. TIP Academy committed serious violations of law, its charter, and MOU
1. TIP Academy’s Board disregarded Government Code section
1090 et. seq., the Political Reform Act (“PRA”) (Government
Code §§ 87000 et seq. and Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 18700 et.
seq.), and the Corporation Code prohibition against self-dealing,
as required by law and by its MOU with the District
• At least three Board members obtained paid employment or
consulting positions with TIP Academy concurrently with or
after becoming Board members, including Lisa Bishop,
2
Deborah Hazelton and Michael Hazelton; Board member
Sandra Kaplan received an $8,000 payment without
documentation to support the payment
• Deborah Hazelton used her position on the Board and in
administration of the school to coerce the Board into hiring
her husband at a very high salary for a part-time position;
• Michael Hazelton obtained a lucrative employment position
with TIP Academy while he and his wife were on the Board,
and he used his position on the Board to persuade the Board
to contract with him
• Spouses of various Board members also obtained paid
employment or consulting arrangements with TIP Academy
during their terms on the Board, including Suzanne Hagen
and Claudia Defibaugh
• The TIP Academy Board of Directors breached its fiduciary
duty to the public by approving illegal contracts in violation
of applicable conflict of interest laws
2. TIP Academy’s Board repeatedly disregarded the Ralph M.
Brown Act and made decisions without any public review or
accountability for its actions
• TIP Academy routinely held meetings at times and in
locations not noticed to the public, and on more than one
occasion deliberately began meeting privately an hour before
the District’s representative to the TIP Board was told to
arrive
• Board members met and discussed issues such as the hiring of
Michael Hazelton outside of noticed, public board meetings
• TIP Academy’s Board agendas and minutes fail to meet
Brown Act standards, and repeatedly fail to document Board
action, Board voting, and abstentions; Board minutes
indicate that closed session meetings were held to discuss
unapproved closed session items; many minutes fail to
indicate a report out of closed session; the constantly
changing composition of the Board and the presence of
apparently “advisory” directors on the Board makes it
impossible to verify whether a quorum was present for action;
in at least one case, the Board noted the absence of a quorum
but Board minutes indicate that action was taken anyway
3. TIP Academy violated its charter
• TIP Academy failed to comply with state laws incorporated
into its charter, as detailed above
• TIP failed to maintain a transparent governance structure
3
• TIP Academy omitted meaningful disclosure of its plans with
regard to TIP Education, Inc. to the District as well as to its
own founders and Board members, and has refused to provide
the requested documentation about TIP Education, Inc.
4. TIP Academy engaged in fiscal mismanagement
• TIP Academy failed to maintain sound business practices
• TIP Academy approved employment and other contracts
without complying with applicable laws and its conflict of
interest policy, its procurement policy, and the standards sets
forth in its charter, including Board approval
• TIP Academy failed to observe corporate formalities,
including annual filings to the California Secretary of State,
and failed to provide truthful information to the Internal
Revenue Service on its Form 1023 about its corporate
organization
B. TIP Academy’s violations were willful, deliberate, and knowing…

More: Read the Full Report