Former leaders of Lincoln Memorial Academy lose appeal of school takeover
A judge has once again upheld the Manatee school board’s decision to take control of Lincoln Memorial Academy.
Formerly known as Lincoln Middle, the traditional school converted to a charter under then-Principal Eddie Hundley in 2018. About a year later, in July 2019, the School Board of Manatee County voted 4-1 to terminate LMA’s charter and take over the property.
The law allows for an immediate charter termination when there is an “immediate and serious danger to the health, safety and/or welfare” of students.
Hundley and other school leaders argued that no danger existed, while the school district cited concerns with LMA’s finances, leadership and operations. The standoff led to a four-day hearing in front of Judge Robert Cohen.
Cohen, then the chief judge for the Division of Administrative Hearings, upheld the school board’s decision in September 2019. In turn, the school’s ousted leaders again challenged the takeover with an appeal of Judge Cohen’s order.
Florida’s First District Court of Appeal issued its order on Wednesday. There was an “enormous weight of evidence” to justify the district’s takeover of Lincoln Memorial Academy, it states.
Much like Cohen’s ruling, the new order states that Hundley remained on campus despite the five-year revocation of his educator certificate in May 2019. He lost the certificate after providing a job recommendation to someone who was under criminal investigation.
The order also says that Lincoln Memorial leaders were enjoying large salaries while the school was suffering a deficit.
“The school failed to pay technology vendors and speech therapists,” it states. “It allowed insurance coverage on student athletes to lapse. It failed to screen student meals for allergens. It even failed to pay the water bills for over four months, risking a shut-off. It failed to pay its food and dairy suppliers, which stopped making deliveries. It then resorted to purchasing food at local grocery stores, and those foods did not bear federally-mandated child nutrition labels.”
“The school hired thirteen employees without properly performing mandatory background screening,” it continues. “Among these hires was a security officer who had a felony grand theft conviction, followed by violation of probation just two weeks before he was hired.”
The order was another defeat for LMA’s ousted administration, which continues to pursue a federal civil rights lawsuit against the School District of Manatee County.
Former school leaders and LMA supporters have often said that district officials withheld vital federal money from the school, sending it into a financial tailspin. And while it sometimes got behind on utilities, the school always paid its balance before a water shut-off, they argued.
The federal lawsuit, which also names the Florida Department of Education and the city of Palmetto, points to sabotage and racial discrimination against LMA and former Principal Hundley, a Black man.
The lawsuit claims that, under pressure from state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, local officials conspired to bring the charter school down.
It states that Palmetto’s mayor, Shirley Groover Bryant, ordered the creation of a water shut-off notice and had it sent to Superintendent Cynthia Saunders, bolstering the termination case against Lincoln Memorial.
City and district leaders have continually denied those claims. Most recently, attorneys for the city of Palmetto issued a rebuttal after the school board’s own chairman, Charlie Kennedy, questioned the water shut-off notice.
As of Wednesday, a week-long jury trial was scheduled for September 2021, according to records in the federal suit.
“Our focus as a school district as it pertains to Lincoln Memorial Academy is on its future and the success of its students,” the superintendent said in a prepared statement. “We are open to working with members of our community who want to share and participate in the school’s success.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 9:32 PM.