Superintendent of Direction for the California schools, Jack O'Connell, initiated an audit more than a year ago into the fiscal concerns of the Options for Youth and Opportunities for Learning (OYO) schools. The OYO is a chain of independent study charter schools within the California schools system, which are privately run however funded by the state.

1. Superintendent of Direction for the California schools, Jack O'Connell, started an audit more than a year ago into
the fiscal issues of the Options for Youth and Opportunities for Learning (OYO) schools. The OYO is a chain of
independent research study charter schools within the California schools system, which are independently run but
funded by the state.
The OYO California schools serve students who have dropped out of the traditional high schools. They presently
have about 15,000 trainees in 40 storefront locations throughout the state. These California schools students do
the majority of their work at home, conference with instructors twice a week. According to state records, student
achievement test and high school exit test ratings are above average, as compared to other alternative high
schools within the California schools system. According to a Los Angeles Times short article of August 10th, only
11 percent of OYO students graduated during the 2003-2004 school year. The remainder of trainees that left
school that year either left, were expelled, or transferred to other schools.
The California schools' audit was carried out by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Help Team, who concluded their
analysis and presented their findings in a report that was released in August 2006. The audit points out accounting
flaws, overpayments by the state, conflicts of interest, nepotism, extreme compensation, and mixing private
organisation issues with public schools.
The OYO was established and still run by John and Joan Hall, former instructors from Hollywood High School.
They have actually totally worked together with the California schools' audit, however disagreement the majority
of the findings.
Some examples from the audit report are:
• Accounting Flaws and Overpayments. The Halls count each of their instructors as 1.92 full-time positions. Their
representative, Stevan Allen, specified that this is a typical practice for charter schools in the California schools
system and is a legitimate technique for compensating school staff for longer days and year-round schedules.
California schools superintendent O'Connell thinks teachers need to be counted just as one full-time position
each. The auditors disagreed, mentioning that conventional California schools teachers invest much less time
working each year than those at OYO. Nevertheless, car donation make a wish
the auditors believed the 1.92 quantity is inflated. This example, alone, accounts for over half of the $57 million
overpayment.
In addition, the report kept in mind numerous doubtful expenses. One example of unrestrained costs, offered by
the Times was an $18,000 personnel party held at Disneyland. Allen defended that occasion as an effort at
relationship building in between employee, who are scattered throughout the state. He kept in mind that the
expenses was less than $50 per employee.
• Disputes of Interest and Mixing Private Service with Public Schools. Besides the charter schools, the Halls own
and run several private businesses that offer materials and services to schools. The Times noted that the Choices in
OYO was the nonprofit part of the setup, with the Opportunities part being for-profit. The audit calls this practice
and setup into question.
• Excessive Compensation. The audit likewise questions the combined wages for the Halls, which is $600,000
yearly. The report mentions that it might be excessive for the quantity of time the couple in fact works.
• Nepotism. The Halls produced a separate charity with $10.8 million of the California schools' financing, called
Pathways in Education. The charity is run by their daughter, Jamie Hall. Little cash has been invested towards
education so far.

2. The Halls contend that they formerly had actually requested assistance on their operation from the California
schools lot of times, but never ever received any response. Thus, they tried to follow California schools
requirements as finest they could with their understanding of the policies. Even O'Connell yielded that none of the
cited practices are unlawful.
The audit advises the California schools should try to recover the $57 million in overpayment from the OYO.
O'Connell has actually sent the report to the state's chief law officer's workplace for evaluation and any necessary
action.