Suit Says Tullytown Charter School Is Financial Mess: Report

TULLYTOWN, PA — A lawsuit filed by a former business manager claims that a charter school in Tullytown is rife with fraud and improper money practices.

The Intelligencer reports that the suit has been filed in Bucks County Court on behalf of Terri Sparango, the former business manager and Board of Trustees secretary at The Center for Student Learning Charter School at Pennsbury.

Her lawsuit charges that she was wrongfully fired for refusing to participate in what she describes as criminal activity at the school, the paper reports.

Open to students throughout Bucks County, the school was granted its charter in 2002 and has 152 students in grades 6-12. Sparango worked at the school for two years, until 2017.

The 48-page lawsuit claims that Sparango's "refusal to conspire with the defendants to falsify audits with fraudulent numbers resulted in her duties being removed from her to the point where she had no choice but to leave her employment, if she was not otherwise to be a participant in the ongoing conspiracy to violate Pennsylvania law."

She's asking for damages and in excess of $500,000 to cover lost wages and benefits, personal pain and suffering and as punishment for school officials.

Principal Charles Bonner, in a statement to The Intelligencer, called the complaints baseless. "The school looks forward to addressing Ms. Sparango’s allegations in the context of the litigation. The school has no further comment at this time," he wrote.

Because it is a charter school, the Pennsbury School District is not directly involved in the lawsuit, but will be monitoring it, a spokeswoman said. Pennsylvania's charter-school laws require school districts to fund approved charter schools, but the schools have a certain degree of freedom to handle their own affairs otherwise.

Other claims in Sparango's complaint include charges that school officials harassed other employees who complained about financial practices there.

To read the full report from The Intelligencer, click here.

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