News  Charter School Board Overpaid Former Executive Director Roughly $100,000, Failed to Oversee Her Use of Leave Time and Doubled Her Salary in 6 Years

The OIG found that the board of trustees of the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy (“DLA”), a charter public school, paid its former executive director, Karmala Sherwood, nearly $100,000 for sick time that she could not have accrued or carried over from year to year.  The OIG also found that between 2011 and 2017, the Board more than doubled Ms. Sherwood’s base salary and gave her benefits, such as no-cost health insurance, that it did not offer other DLA staff.  Further, in 2017, the Board paid Ms. Sherwood $386,000 in salary, benefits and payouts:  this represented 11.3% of the tuition revenue for the year.  Finally, the Board continues to employ Ms. Sherwood as a “consultant,” but it has no contract delineating her duties or obligations to the school.

The OIG concluded that, while the Board did not act in bad faith, it did not act in the school’s best interest with respect to Ms. Sherwood’s sick leave, compensation package or consulting arrangement. Similarly, Board members did not appreciate their role as stewards of the school’s finances or their obligations to actively oversee the executive director.  The OIG recommended corrective actions that would strengthen the Board’s stewardship of the school and protect public funds.

Sick Leave Payout and Compensation Package for the Former Executive Director of the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy