Rally at Utah charter school pinpoints parent, administration differences at school

SALT LAKE CITY — It's like marital counseling for an elementary school.

The administration, teachers and parents at Dual Immersion Academy all want the same thing — a successful charter school that turns out completely bilingual (Spanish and English) students — but they can't agree on how to reach that goal. The resulting squabbles have both parties considering divorce.

More than 100 parents and students rallied Friday in front of Dual Immersion Academy, 1155 Glendale, calling for the charter school's director and business manager to step down. Parents passed around a petition. Children lobbied, waving signs that said, "We care."

Parent's insist, however, that they didn't picket because they're unhappy with the education their children get at Dual Immersion Academy, a tax-funded public school focused on teaching children in both English and Spanish.

"I couldn't be more happy with what my kids are learning," said Mac Newbold, who has two children at the Salt Lake City school. He and other parents decided to intervene, he said, to make sure Dual Immersion Academy keeps it up.

"Over the past six months, we're just watched as issues crept into the school," Newbold said. "We've tried to address them with the director. He's not listening, so we just keep getting louder and louder."

Demonstrators said director Laurencio Peña has created a "culture of intimidation" at the K-7 school and refuses to be a team player. The administration's lack of financial management experience, they said, is putting the school's future at risk.

For months, the school's books went unbalanced because administrators couldn't figure out the math, Newbold said. A parent had to come in to set things straight. Because of a lack of accounting expertise, teachers' W2 tax forms were fraught with errors, and retirement accounts have been neglected. At one point, the school had racked up $23,000 in unpaid lunch bills because administrators had improperly accounted for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

"If our good teachers leave because they don't feel valued, then we lose the school," Newbold said. "If the school goes under because we're not managing money correctly, then we lose the school. None of us want that to happen."

School leaders see the problems differently.