Rockwell Charter High School in Eagle Mountain is in violation of its charter, and the whistle-blower who reported it now fears retaliation from the school board.

Rockwell Charter High has received a letter from the State Office of Education outlining several issues, mainly dealing with policy and procedure, that could cause potential problems in the school's future. The issues must be rectified by July 31, the letter states.

"All the items suggest there are some things the board needs to do," said Rockwell Charter High director Darren Beck. "We are not doing anything illegal or inappropriate. The board just needs some training."

Jenny Foss, who serves as treasurer on Rockwell's board, said she believes she will be ousted for informing state officials of the school's non-compliance.

"It's retaliation because I went to the state and brought to light the violations of the charter and state and federal laws," Foss said. She is an accountant and working on an MBA.

Board chairman Redge Hudson said he doesn't want bad feelings and would prefer not to see someone removed from the board. However, if a board member "isn't helping the school move forward, they could be removed," Hudson said.

The board met recently to work on the school's budget. Like other districts and charter schools in Utah, the board must deal with the statewide budget shortfall. Rockwell Charter High must cut $55,000 from its $3.5 million budget.

The board also had discussions toward rectifying two of the issues in question. This includes implementing a board finance committee, as well as scheduling the director's annual performance evaluation.

Further issues outlined in the letter, sent by State Charter School Board director Marlies Burns on June 4, included directions to the board to decide whether the year prior to the school opening counts as part of a board member's term.

Another issue states a charter school's business director or financial consultant must have an accounting degree. Beck said the school's internal auditor is a CPA.

The letter also states the school's fiscal management must meet state and federal laws and should also abide by financial checks and balances.

Beck said the school's internal auditor reviews books monthly and the school sends reports to the state. The school's first independent audit will be done at the end of this fiscal year. The state charter school staff will review the audit.

If the school does have financial improprieties, the audit will reveal them, he said.

The school's business director, Virginia Bowser, told the Deseret News the school is not having financial problems beyond the budget cuts all districts are experiencing.

Beck said the school just won a statistics award from the state finance office — a feather in the cap of the first-year school. Staff has turned in financial reports on time, he said.

Rockwell High, which opened in fall 2008, has 525 students but a capacity for 700. The school's mission is academic-based.

Contributing: Clayton Norlen

E-mail: astewart@desnews.com