Embattled charter VLT Academy closes for good

The embattled VLT Academy, a charter school in Pendleton, is closed for good. Superintendent Valerie Lee confirmed Monday that the school will not re-open this fall. She told the Enquirer she had no choice but to close the school permanently after it lost its sponsor. Ensuing legal proceedings also rendered it unable to pay its teachers or landlords.

Its landlords filed a lawsuit against the school July 31. A group of teachers has been considering legal action, too, after their paychecks stopped coming.

But Ohio law says charter schools can only operate with a sponsor. Without one, the school had no choice but to close.

It means 600 students -- most of whom are low-income and considered "at-risk" -- will have to find new places to learn this fall.

Cincinnati Public Schools would welcome the VLT students with open arms, said Janet Walsh, CPS director of public affairs, in an email to The Enquirer.

Lee, who believes the school was a victim of politics, said it has been difficult. "It was so hard. We were trying to close down and we had parents trying to register," said Lee. "I still feel like I'm in a dream."

The school's fate has been uncertain all summer. It's sponsor, Educational Resource Consultants, declined to renew its contract with the charter school June 30 due to poor academics and financial issues.

VLT tried unsuccessfully to get a new sponsor. Lee said the Ohio Department of Education pressured other sponsors not to take on the school. The state can't directly close charter schools unless they perform so poorly that they trigger Ohio's academic closure laws. So the state is instead cracking down on charter school sponsors in an attempt to weed out poor-performing schools.

School leaders felt a glimmer of hope in July when Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Nadine Allen ordered the Ohio Department of Education to sponsor the school and pay it nearly $300,000 to pay teachers and debt.

It was short-lived. The Ohio Department of Education appealed and the First District Court of Appeals later issued a stay on Allen's order, freezing everything involved, including the money.

VLT's debt mounted and it was unable to pay teachers or its landlord.

In July, three companies – Sun Building Limited Partnership, Triage properties and Litvak Holdings – sued VLT, its officer and board of directors, saying it hadn't paid the $1.6 million in rent it agreed in a contract would be paid.

Valerie and Cliff Lee filed a request to have the suit dismissed. The case next is in court Aug. 18.

"We had to close," said Lee. "(ODE) appealed without paying. I couldn't afford the teachers. We didn't have a choice."

She said the appeal would have taken more than a year to resolve.

The school is comprised of four buildings, including its headquarters located on Central Parkway across from the Horseshoe Casino.

Reporter Kimball Perry contributed.