Pittsburgh Public Schools has reached a settlement with Passport Academy Charter School, a step forward in the effort to avert the school’s closure.
PPS school board members voted in June to begin the formal process required to revoke Passport Academy’s charter after district administrators said the school had failed to meet state standards for student performance and violated its charter agreement.
Since it opened in 2014, the school — previously affiliated with the Hill House Association — has served some of the city’s most vulnerable youth. To attend Passport Academy, students must have dropped out of their previous high school.
When presenting to the school board in June, the district’s director of charter accountability accused Passport Academy of violating its charter by failing to submit affidavits in which students under the age of 18 declare their dropout status.
District solicitor Ira Weiss said Thursday that the settlement agreement lays out a clear process to ensure those violations don’t happen again.
“We think it's a good agreement for the district, and we're anxious to move forward and put the process behind us,” Weiss said.
He added that, from the board’s perspective, the settlement paves the way to provide a continued place for students to go when they drop out.
“Because the student who drops out really has no real good option,” Weiss continued.
Principal and CEO Joe Oliphant told the school board earlier this summer that Passport Academy is a “different kind of school, that supports those kids that ‘no one wants’ or are those ‘troublemakers.’”
Both Pittsburgh Public and Passport Academy have agreed to withdraw financial claims as part of the settlement agreement, according to Weiss.
The district had filed a lawsuit against Passport Academy in June for what they alleged was more than $568,000 in overpaid tuition to the charter school.
According to the complaint, PPS paid tuition for 26 students attending Passport Academy, although a review of enrollment documents allegedly found that these students did not attend for the totality of the school year.
Passport Academy has filed two related claims against the school district with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
“We were trying to get that money back, but essentially both sides agreed to withdraw their claims and have a fresh start,” Weiss said.
The parties also agreed to a defined process for enrolling students at Passport Academy, as well as the affidavit families must sign before attending the school.
Weiss said school board members will vote on the charter agreement next month, with a recommendation from district leaders to renew.
