More Trouble For Embattled South Carolina Charter School District

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Earlier this week, I reported on the sudden shuttering of a charter school in the Midlands region of South Carolina. This closure marked a major blow to the S.C. Public Charter School District (SCPCSD), which has found itself at the center of several recent scandals.

The out-of-nowhere shutdown of the Midlands Arts Conservatory in downtown Columbia took parents and students completely by surprise – and the secretive manner in which it unfolded behind closed doors rightfully has both school and district officials facing fresh scrutiny.

This week, the problems for the district escalated when another one of its member schools – the Charleston Advancement Academy (CAA) – filed a motion with the S.C. Administrative Law Court (SCALC) accusing district leaders of impropriety.

Specifically, the CAA motion accused statewide charter board members of having “violated several laws in the course of making their decision to revoke CAA’s charter effective June 30, 2023.” The goal of these alleged violations? “Stealing CAA’s at-risk students and the tens of millions of public dollars that follow them,” a summary of the legal action noted.

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In addition to the administrative law filing (.pdf), the dispute between CAA and the charter school district is also the focus of a federal lawsuit. That lawsuit accused the district of having “knowingly, willfully and intentionally discriminated against CAA and our high-poverty, predominately minority students.”

Founded in 2017, CAA bills itself as a school serving students who have experienced “difficulty succeeding in traditional schools.” It claims to offer these “vulnerable young people” a second chance at graduating from high school and succeeding “in the job market or post-secondary education.”

The SCPCSD – which oversees CAA – cites its mission as “reimagining public education in South Carolina.”

According to CAA, the decision by the statewide board to revoke its charter “was underpinned and motivated by likely unethical and illegal financial ties between SCPCSD officials and a for-profit, Chicago-based private sector company that provides school management services for a fee.”

This company – Acceleration Academies – purports to be a “national leader in re-engaging young adults not experiencing success in a traditional high school setting.” Acceleration Academies previously managed CAA prior to the school’s board of directors terminating that arrangement three years ago.

This termination allegedly “triggered conspiratorial activities” on the part of two SCPCSD officials – former district superintendent Elliot Smalley and current legal counsel Erik T. Norton – along with two Acceleration Academies leaders, Joseph Wise and David Sundstrom.

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These alleged conspiratorial activities were “intended to undermine and eventually destroy CAA.”

This news outlet raised concerns about Smalley years ago when he was hired to lead South Carolina’s charter schools – concerns which would later prove to be warranted.

According to CAA, Acceleration Academies’ services were “terminated for unsatisfactory performance.”

“They have subsequently schemed with South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD) officials to perpetuate their dirty business model in the Lowcountry,” a memo accompanying the administrative law court filing noted.

Among other acts, the alleged conspirators “secretly, surreptitiously, improperly, and illegally conspired, plotted, and schemed to have the SCPCSD require CAA (to) continue paying” Acceleration Academies.

The memo went on to say Acceleration Academies has “a long, scandalous history of compensating individuals who can influence the expenditure of public funds in their favor.”

(Click to View)

CAA claims it “intends to conduct discovery related to these matters” as it pursues its federal case, including pulling “Elliot Smalley’s and legal counsel and Erik Norton’s bank records and financial accounts, and that of entities associated with Norton and/ or Smalley.”

Whoa. Sounds like a trip to the popcorn stand is in order, people … because this case is about to get interesting.

According to an April 3, 2023 letter (.pdf) to CAA’s attorneys from Norton – who was acting in his official capacity at the time – CAA was shut down because the district had “concerns regarding the internal controls in place for oversight of taxpayer funds.”

Current district superintendent Chris Neeley has also accused the school of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) violations, Title IX violations and excessive truancy, among “other areas of concern.”

Stay tuned for much more on this story as the legal drama between CAA and the statewide charter school district heats up. Also, this news outlet has been working with several whistleblowers on other stories related to the SCPCSD. As I noted earlier this week, we will be ramping up our focus on South Carolina’s government-run school system – including its charter school district – in the weeks and months to come.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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