Schools

PIACS Suing South Brunswick and Two Other School Districts

Charter school lawsuit alleges interference and misuse of public funds to prevent the school from securing a facility

The ongoing fight between a proposed South Brunswick charter school and the three school districts from which it would draw students has gotten nastier. The Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the South Brunswick, Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro school districts alleging the misuse of public funds and the use of governmental positions to fight the opening of PIACS.

"For the past eighteen months, these school districts have been using public funds and their public educational positions to thwart the rights of the parents and the educational opportunities of their children," said PIACS spokesman and co-founder Parker Block via release. "They had their say in the review process and they chose not to appeal the Commissioner's approval of the school. Now they are waging a guerilla war financed by public dollars to fight PIACS and pick sides, favoring one set of public school children – those who will attend the traditional public schools – over another – those who want to attend the charter school. This is not only morally wrong, it is unlawful and against the public policy of this State." 

PIACS is joined by the parents of prospective students in the privately funded suit, which states that the three school districts have diverted "tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars" to pay for consultants and lawyers in an effort to prevent PIACS from securing a facility at 12 Perrine Road in South Brunswick.

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South Brunswick School District representatives were not immediately available for comment. Earlier this year, superintendent Gary McCartney said law firm Parker McCay charges the district $165 per hour and represents South Brunswick schools in various legal matters.

Dr. McCartney said that every school district retains an attorney for lawsuits such as a slip and fall on a sidewalk outside of school property or a work-related injury.

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"Legal fees are a budget line item in school administration just like postage or the telephone bill," he said earlier this year.  "We live within the boundaries of what we can afford and we do get sued with some regularity, which is normal for a district this size.  I call it the cost of doing business."

McCartney said that because the PIACS application is a zoning issue, the district needed to have representation that understands the zoning requirements and makes sure "all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed."

He added that, because taxpayer money is in question with the charter school, he believes the taxpayers of South Brunswick expect the district to defend themselves in the matter.

"You can't say well we're short on money so don't spend any money to defend yourself," McCartney said. "We could then find ourselves in a position where we wouldn't have any money if people look at us and say those fools don't defend themselves.  Attorneys are necessary to make sure there is equity in the process.

"We have a responsibility to defend ourselves so somebody doesn't take advantage of us and so our money is watched over.  I won't apologize for that, we're expected to guard over and jealously protect that taxpayer money."

According to PIACS, there is high parental interest in the school and the school districts disseminated "false and inflammatory statements about the charter school to the community and have pledged to use any available means to prevent PIACS from opening, all at taxpayer expense."

for each student enrolled from the sending district. Block said PIACS will have about 35 students from South Brunswick, about 35 from Princeton and about 100 from West Windsor-Plainsboro. 

as planned at St. Joseph’s Seminary on Mapleton Road in Plainsboro. The Department of Education then granted the school a one-year planning extension. PIACS requested the extension again this year after determining it would be unable to gain zoning board approval and a certificate of occupancy by the June 30 DOE deadline. In July, PIACS was granted a one-year planning extension from the DOE for the second year in a row.

to open at the 41,000-square-foot site that is currently a liquor distribution warehouse.

The PIACS lawsuit alleges the three school districts have misspent public dollars provided to them by the state and by taxpayers and have improperly used those funds and their "status as public school officials to malign PIACS and serve as the catalyst to galvanize opposition to the proposed charter school."

The suit further alleges that the activities by the districts are an "abuse of school administration responsibilities, exceed legal authority to operate the schools and educate the children, and violate a number of state provisions intended to ensure financial and operational accountability of the school districts."

PIACS representatives have repeatedly stated the districts had a say in the review process for the school and chose not to appeal. However, when New Jersey recently lost out on a $15 million federal charter school grant due to sited weaknesses in state oversight of the schools,

"Unfortunately, our law is our greatest deficiency," Bolger said. "We lost whole points for not having multiple authorizers, no appeals process besides the courts, not enough autonomy. Those are all fair points, and things we have been seeking to change."

PIACS is asking Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf to stop the districts from spending public funds to oppose the charter school, and also requests the appointment of a monitor to ensure that the districts are spending public funds in a lawful manner.

PIACS is also asking the DOE for a reduction in state aid to the districts in an amount that is equal to what has been spent to oppose PIACS. The charter school is asking the three districts to end the "dissemination of any school district-sponsored information opposing PIACS."

The suit also seeks compensation by the districts to PIACS "equal to the amount the school districts have spent for opposing PIACS and an accounting of all expenses and activities to date."

In addition, the suit asks that the school districts be instructed to drop their opposition to the PIACS effort to secure a facility for the charter school at 12 Perrine Road.

 witnesses on a number of issues, including sidewalks on the property, an on-site nurse, how lunch would be provided, how the school could accommodate the amount of cars and buses who could enter the parking lot during student drop-off and pickup, and the safety of the students who could be walking between a line of parents pulling out of the queue of cars. 

Zoning board members have repeatedly told PIACS representatives that the school site plan failed to adequately delineate which part of the facility was used by PIACS and which part was to be used by a private school that has been proposed to share the facility with PIACS.

 the clarity and speed in which answers were provided during testimony by applicant witnesses.

Save Our Schools member and South Brunswick resident Lisa Rodgers also raised concerns during a June South Brunswick Township Council meeting about , a full-time private school founded by PIACS lead founder Dr. Bonnie Liao.

"We believe the children attending the private school will switch to the charter school because they know they will get the same education on the backs of taxpayers," she said in June. "Eleven out of the twelve founders of the charter school are currently on the board of trustees or on the family association committees of the private school, and only one board member indicated on the Department of Education application that he is a founding member of the private school."

Rodgers added that the two schools sharing areas that are paid for by public dollars, including the playground, is also troubling.

"The co-mingling of private and public dollars could not be more evident," she added.

Though the debate over whether charter schools belong in  is sure to continue, PIACS stated the need to close the global achievement gap is what should be considered when judging the merits of the program.

“We have seen overwhelming interest among local parents here, like others around the country, who understand that the global achievement gap is real,” Dr. Lao said via release. "The charter school law recognizes that parents can pursue high quality, innovative schools to improve educational outcomes for their children. This is true regardless of the socio-economic status of the community.”

The PIACS Debate

Click here to learn more about the various aspects of the PIACS program and how it compares to the education offered by the South Brunswick School District.

Click here to learn more about the issues surrounding PIACS and a private school that has been proposed to share the 12 Perrine Road location with PIACS.  The private school, YingHua International School, was founded by PIACS lead founder Dr. Bonnie Liao.


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