Allegations of a massive fraud scheme at a California charter school led to the extraordinary resignation of the entire board of directors.
The California Department of Education is demanding that $180 million given to Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools in Sacramento be paid back after the findings of an audit.
The audit said that the school’s graduation rate was 2.8% in one year and that the rate was so low it ‘dropped the overall statewide graduation rate for the 2023-2024 school year by more than half of a percentage point.’
The school’s leadership is accused of nepotism, lying about the number of students served, giving illegal gifts, and using public money for luxury travel.
Dozens of whistleblowers went to KXTV-TV with their accounts of the alleged fraud, which led to a documentary titled “The Wild West of Education,” released in 2024. That led to an audit by the state, which produced a damning 171-page report in June.
The board voted two weeks ago to remove board member Sonja Cameron after she was accused of hiring her daughter to a position with a six-figure salary despite her daughter’s lack of college degree and minimum qualifications. Cameron did not even recuse herself when the board voted to hire her daughter for the position.
KXTV reported that the motion to remove Cameron passed but that she voted against it.
“Well, obviously this is not what I was hoping for this meeting,” Cameron said.
Each of the members then resigned, one after the other.
“This moment is about accountability at every level,” read a statement from the school’s executive director, Jonathan Raymond. “I asked for these resignations because I believe Highlands’ future depends on a clean break from past governance failures. Our community deserves a school governed with integrity, guided by transparency, and built to serve those who’ve historically been left behind. These changes allow us to reset and rebuild from a stronger foundation.”
Despite the resignations, three of the members stayed on to make sure the school is legally operational.
“Those were taxpayer dollars that were wrongfully received by Highlands’ operators,” said state Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D) to KXTV. “So it’s only right they have to pay that money back.”
The audit said that the school’s graduation rate was 2.8% in one year and that the rate was so low it “dropped the overall statewide graduation rate for the 2023-2024 school year by more than half of a percentage point.”
Muratsuchi and other state lawmakers are looking to pass bills that would increase oversight over education funds to prevent more fraud.
Among the thousands of students the school served were many refugees from Afghanistan who were connected through the school to resources related to child care, laundry, and domestic violence.
Raymond released a statement indicating that the school would fight having to pay back the $180 million because the repayment would force it to shut down.
“We’re still reviewing the letter and Highlands’ legal options, including appeal. While we acknowledge gaps in attendance reporting and have instituted sweeping reforms, it’s simply false to suggest no instruction took place for two years — thousands of students showed up, learned, and graduated,” said Raymond.
“Let’s be clear: Any suggestion that Highlands could give back $180 million is political theater and would force the school to close,” he added. “Lawmakers, regulators, and CDE cannot let that happen — not to tens of thousands of immigrants, refugees, and second-chance students who count on Highlands as a lifeline.”
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