Audit Finds Charter School Misspent Millions

By Jennifer Coleman, The Associated Press

Published: April 15, 2005

SACRAMENTO—C. Steven Cox ran what was the state’s largest charter school network, enrolling thousands of students at dozens of campuses, but investigators say he routinely looted millions from the public schools to enrich his friends and family, leading to the schools’ collapse last summer, according to a state audit.

A yearlong state-ordered investigation into the finances and corporate structure of the Victorville-based California Charter Academy and its private management firm, Educational Administrative Services Corp., found millions of dollars were spent on hefty executive salaries, perks and questionable contracts awarded to Cox’s friends and family.

“The magnitude of waste of precious education funds outlined in this audit is appalling,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said Thursday.