Arts and Minds School being monitored aggressively
The following comes from Daniel A. Ricker's "Watchdog Report." I have Daniel's permission to reprint it word-for-word here:
The Arts and Minds Academy Charter School was in the school board’s audit committee spotlight this week and the founder and owner of the building housing the school was called out Tuesday at the meeting. Four restaurant/bars surround the school located on Commodore Plaza in Coconut Grove and when school ends in the afternoon. The kid’s mill around the streets running through passing traffic, yet there are no signs indicating it is a school zone. The school, created a few years ago has been expanding, adding students, but that rate of student growth has dropped to 351 students and the institution is trending toward having another deficit, like the previous year. Manny Alonso-Poch, the owner of the building housing the academy founded the school and runs a restaurant at night at the location as well.
Alonso-Poch was grilled by audit committee members about whether the school will close the year with a deficit and he said it would not. He told them he would cover any shortfalls when the budget year concludes June 30 and it would be a “gift.” However, since the school is a not-for-profit that could be a tax deduction for Alonso-Poch and since he is getting over $69,000 in rent a month covering the potential estimated $150,000 shortfall would be no problem. The public school district funds the school based on student count and the audit committee voted to increase the scrutiny on the school including district auditors “monitoring in a more aggressive capacity.”
Betty Amos, the chair of the audit committee asked Alonso-Poch if he would reduce the high rent he charges for the school but the owner disagreed saying he “did not agree the rent was too high.” Audit committee member Frederick “Buck” Thornburg, Esq., said after the school’s discussion there “is a lot of fairy dust running around here” in the room he thought and scrutiny of the school’s finances are now front and center of the nation’s fourth largest public schools district’s auditors. Readers should stay tuned to see how this all pans out in the future.
To get Daniel's weekly email, please contact: publisher@watchdogreport.net
FROM NOW ON. ALL COMMENTS MORE THAN ONE PARAGRAPH WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. NO ONE READS THEM WHEN THEY GO ON AND ON NON-STOP.
The Arts and Minds Academy Charter School was in the school board’s audit committee spotlight this week and the founder and owner of the building housing the school was called out Tuesday at the meeting. Four restaurant/bars surround the school located on Commodore Plaza in Coconut Grove and when school ends in the afternoon. The kid’s mill around the streets running through passing traffic, yet there are no signs indicating it is a school zone. The school, created a few years ago has been expanding, adding students, but that rate of student growth has dropped to 351 students and the institution is trending toward having another deficit, like the previous year. Manny Alonso-Poch, the owner of the building housing the academy founded the school and runs a restaurant at night at the location as well.
Alonso-Poch was grilled by audit committee members about whether the school will close the year with a deficit and he said it would not. He told them he would cover any shortfalls when the budget year concludes June 30 and it would be a “gift.” However, since the school is a not-for-profit that could be a tax deduction for Alonso-Poch and since he is getting over $69,000 in rent a month covering the potential estimated $150,000 shortfall would be no problem. The public school district funds the school based on student count and the audit committee voted to increase the scrutiny on the school including district auditors “monitoring in a more aggressive capacity.”
Betty Amos, the chair of the audit committee asked Alonso-Poch if he would reduce the high rent he charges for the school but the owner disagreed saying he “did not agree the rent was too high.” Audit committee member Frederick “Buck” Thornburg, Esq., said after the school’s discussion there “is a lot of fairy dust running around here” in the room he thought and scrutiny of the school’s finances are now front and center of the nation’s fourth largest public schools district’s auditors. Readers should stay tuned to see how this all pans out in the future.
To get Daniel's weekly email, please contact: publisher@watchdogreport.net
FROM NOW ON. ALL COMMENTS MORE THAN ONE PARAGRAPH WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. NO ONE READS THEM WHEN THEY GO ON AND ON NON-STOP.
posted by Tom Falco at 7:00 AM
YOU MAY NOT LIFT THE PHOTOS & TEXT. IT'S COPYRIGHTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU CAN HOWEVER SHARE A STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY USING THE LINKS HERE.
For linking to this one story, just click on the time it was posted & just this story will open for sharing - only through social media. Not copying and pasting.
27 Comments:
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you-
The late Jackie Gleason would have said "Oh, how sweet it is!!!!". Also comes to mind the end of Act II of Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece "Rigoletto"; when the baritone cries: "Vendetta, vendetta; Oh tremenda vendetta!". Finally!!!!!!!!!..................
Could someone please clarify the following: if the owner of the school collects the astronomical rent amount of $69,000.00; how is it possible that there was never any monies to buy new musical instruments? how is it possible that there were no monies to enlarge and fix the music room? how is it possible that the kids do not have the textbooks and related materials that they need?.
Can someone please disclose how this astronomical sum of $69,000.00 per month is being allocated???? Any accountants out there???????.
As an addendum to the comment above; on top of the $69,000.00 per month in rent, the school administration/owner also receives the amount of $7,500.00 per student from the State. If you multiply $7,500 times 360 students it comes out to $2,700,000.00 (almost 3 million dollars!). How are this funds being allocated????
Now the school claims that they do not have a concert hall secured for the end of the year concert "due to lack of funds". The concert hall for the December 2008 concert (UM's Gusman Hall) was rented (approx. $2,000.00)with monies raised by the parents thru the Parent's Booster Club. The school administration did not give one single dime for this event. To top it all off; the school owner used to charge $7.00 for parking fees to those parent that attended the monthly parent's meetings; since the school owner also manages/owns the parking lot adjacent to the school.
Friends,
Even now, the numbers at Arts & Minds do not make sense. Below is a link to the school's audit report that has been posted on the web. It includes Mr. William Machado's email response on how he plans to rescue the school from its dire financial situation. It is laughable that he mentions how he has now personally taken over the school's recruiting efforts in order to boost enrollment and thereby the funds to operate the school. Anyone who knows the school's administrator will tell you that he is one of the two main causes for the school's decline in enrollment- the other is Mr. Alonso-Poch himself. Earlier in the year, in order to express his distaste for the kids, Mr. Machado gathered the student seniors in the theatre and told them that they had "not yet had their annual tragedy". He went on to state that inevitably it always happens and that one of the students would die before the year was over. He also went to the school's music students on the very next day of what was a splendid concert to tell them specifically that he had heard "nothing that impressed" him the night before. This sure is one heck of a way to make kids want to stay at Arts & Minds.
I hope the Grape does not construe this as a "nasty" post. As outrageous as these statements sound, they students have indeed endured this foolishness. And the fact that those poor kids are suffering through this and that their parents are too afraid to speak out is truly concerning. Those kids are an example for the rest of us. They quietly do their work, and they await their moment to express themselves, without defiance, disrespect or disruption. I commend those kids for their character!
If you go the link provided, you will see the school's own audit report states on page 10 that Alonso-Poch charges for more than what is being reported in the "Watchdog".
It states he is charging $928,000 for rent plus an additional $449,000 for additional "rent expenses". This totals an astounding $1.337 Million!! Divide this number by 12 months, and it is far more than the $69,000.00 per month stated. Since this is an anonymous post, I am posting the link. Viewers should judge for themselves.
http://mca.dadeschools.net/auditcommittee/AC_January09/3a1.pdf
I work at A&M. Most of the time, I have a hard time getting a parking spot here because the garage is packed with the owner's employees' cars from his title company- or with others to whom he rents spaces to (local restaurant employees, etc...).
And on the weekends, they charge for parking and don't forward any funds to the school though we are paying for that garage!!
Tisk tisk tisk. We need those dollars to educate our kids!
I wish I could speak openly. I hate to have to do this anonymously, but I do unfortunately.
Give me a break!!
This is an outrage!!! How can Mr. Machado tell the students that he was not impressed by what he heard on the December winter concert?? What kind of a Principal is he? He should take a course in music appreciation before making such comments. Those kids played a wonderful concert (especially the jazz combos!), despite the stress and sadness of having their music teacher fired for no valid reason just two weeks prior to the concert. I did not like Mr. Machado when he introduced himself (at the parent's meeting) on the evening of December 4th; he was arrogant and despotic as he talked down to parents in that meeting. After reading the above comment, now I know my gut feeling was correct. What a difference between Machado and Mr. Tamargo (the former principal). Mr. Tamargo is a gentleman who was liked by the students and parents. I am sure he would have never made derogatory comments regarding the kid's performance at a concert.
Someone please explain how Manuel is allowed to have a beer and liquor license on school premises??? Does he use it under a different corporation or name? hhhmmmmmm
Extremely shady if you ask me.
You should also check the prior year's audit when Mr. Alonso increased the rent by $550,000 without giving the school any additional space. Everyone should keep on digging to see what will really come up. It's all public record.....the financial mess Mr. Alonso-Poch has created.
I know someone who has decided to open charter schools and children daycare only to receive crazy funding including rent from the government. That is where the taxes go, in the pocket of the rich and well connected. WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN THIRD WORLD.
Why would anyone send their child there? This "school" sounds like a total sham. Can anyone with suitable commercial real estate start up a school? It sounds like this guy is making an enormous profit under the guise of education.
I am certainly glad that the audit committee voted for more rigorous oversight of the school's finances. If for no other reason, it will keep things a little more transparent to those of us whose children attend the school. I feel silly that I have not been able to figure out this whole situation.
I am not looking to throw mud at anyone. It's just that the very strange nature of everything about this school has caused me to wonder for a very long time.
I have frequently asked myself, exactly why someone like Mr. Alonso would be involved in anything having to do with education? As far as I have been able to gather, he has no previous background in teaching, or education and he does not seem to be a philanthropist by any means. So again I wonder, why would he start a school? I do think he has been a bit careless about his business dealings regarding the Academy of Arts and Minds. As an attorney he must surely be aware that even a mere perception of financial impropriety, especially regarding children and public monies, is dangerous territory.
I have never considered myself to be a "witch hunter" nor do I hope to charge anyone without evidence-that's not my place.
However, not enough has been said about how much the students have been hurt by everything that has gone on at this school recently. I notice it in my child's conversations as well as his friends.
I wish this would have all been a big misunderstanding. I am afraid to find out where all of the evidence is leading. This audit I viewed online and its implications do not bode very well for the school; and most certainly not for the school's leaders.
First, many of the A&M students played the weekend before last next to my wife's artist booth at the Gifford Lane Art Stroll. They all sounded fantastic and were good role models to my two young daughters.
Second, I happen to be a commercial real estate broker and thought it would be interesting to dissect the A&M lease. Hard to pinpoint details, but costar.com says the building is 25,000 rentable square feet, which is in line with the +/-33,000 adjusted SF on the MDC tax roll (adjusted SF would include areas excluded from BOMA rentable measurement standards, such as parking structures). Purchase price in 2003 was $3.4 million according to county tax rolls. Google can't find me the precise lease square footage for A&M, but school board records indicate it is at least 19,500 and may now be as much as 25,000 sf. Last I remember, the school does not occupy the entire building, so right away the possibility of A&M leasing 25 KSF is a red flag.
Commercial leases can be complicated documents and lease rates can greatly depend upon up front landlord capital expenditures on behalf of the tenant. However, note 6 of the FY 2007-08 audit shows $928,000 in rent expense on a net (not inclusive of operating expenses basis). Assuming A&M leased the entire 25,000 SF building that would be an annual rate of $37.12 per SF net. No clarity on what exactly "net" is in this lease. Are insurance and property taxes passed through as additional expenses? If so, $37.12 is way off the charts for a so called triple net rent. No building in Dade county has ever achieved a NNN office rent of $37 per SF, not to mention this building that has very limited commercial appeal – particularly on the upper floors. Prime retail rates can far exceed that $37 NNN, but this building is far from that – again, certainly not on the upper floors. The sale price in 2003 implies a more accurate expectation for rent. At $3.4 million on 25,000 rentable SF the price was $136 per SF. At a 10% capitalization rate, that implies a NNN rental rate of $13.60 per SF. That is much closer to reality and a number any owner should be thrilled to get. Some of the best buildings in downtown Miami and Brickell are now not achieving those kinds of net rental rates - for far superior product.
I'm not sure what one does with this information, but it does validate the sentiment on this board that something doesn't smell right with the lease arrangement.
I am a student at Arts & Minds...let me start by saying I am one of those students that sit in silence awaiting the day were I can be saved from the hell whole people called A&M. Being there makes people unhappy, I am a witness to that...People that speak about the deficiency of needs in the arts are right, we don’t have very much to work with...and yea it’s very sad because the students are there to be inspired and express themselves through there arts. Not only do the arts strands lack materials but also the academics do too. We don’t have many books, and the teachers have to find ways to come up with things to help us learn. Many of the amazing teachers suffer in silence not wanting to say anything in fear that their fate might be like that of the band teacher who got fired last November. One question I ask is where is all the money? Not only does the school get money from the county for each student, but also every student is required to pay an activities fee of 150 dollars, but still we have no books. That activities fee is suppose to cover the cost of science lab materials and workbooks that the student might need. this year I had to pay the activities fee and also when the time came I had to pay full price for a few work books, and so far I have not done one single lab because the facilities does not allow it. another thing is the school is always trying to talk down to the students, Mr.Machado himself said that if the students did not care to be there that they could leave because they had other people waiting to fill their spots. One thing I know for sure is that they have no one to fill our spots when we leave. I heard that only about 25 students showed up to audition when they held them. Also I think that if the school was doing well they wouldn’t need to post a huge sign in the front of the school pretty much to try to get people to go. I kind of want to laugh in Mr.Machado face because I believe both him and Mr.Alonso are very pathetic people for putting the future of so many children at risk for some dirty cheap change. I’m sorry if I’m sounding mean but I can’t help but be upset when I’m one of those children whose future they are putting at risk. I love and commend those people who spend so much time to help the students excel. Next year I will be attending Miami arts charter and I will never look back...there I will be able to go forward and accomplish my goals and dreams.
I fully agree with the comment posted above; the objective here is not to "throw mud" at anyone, but to find answers. To quote Mr. Thornburg (audit committee member): "There is a lot of fairy dust running around A&M". And now that I think retrospectively, I find unacceptable that the school administration/owner/founder claimed that they did not have funds to purchase musical instruments, to purchase sheet music, and to rent the concert venues for the students to perform. When you have a school founder/owner that collects $69,000 per month in rent, plus other incidental fees the school collects - how could they ask parents to dish out monies to buy items that the school should have purchased in the first place?
Furthermore, if there were no funds to buy musical instrumets and textbooks, how come there were funds to support that insolvent Abanico Theater?
CREB,
Thank you for your insight. Many of us have known this for a very long time and the argument about what a special place that building is does not hold any water. If you are in the business, you'll agree that when Alonso rents out that building to parties other than the school, he is passing the line. I assume the school is the tenant. If the school pays nearly half a million dollars for the parking garage, then the school should reap the cash from renting it out during non-school hours. Legally it is a sublease that should benefit the school.
the amazing thing about Alonso's cohorts: they are all towing the line and circling Alonso's wagon. One can only ask, why in God's name would those people on the school's board of directors stick their necks out for him? It makes me wonder. If any authority eventually finds criminal wrong-doing, are these people aware that ultimately THEY will be held even MORE accountable than Alonso? One thing is to serve on a public board as a civic service to one's community. To sit on a board watching idle as someone lines their pockets in your name is a different thing altogether. It certainly makes me wonder if there are more people making money inappropriately than Alonso. Why would they risk it for him if not for some type of benefit?
CREB earlier posted above:
>>>Are insurance and property taxes passed through as additional expenses? If so, $37.12 is way off the charts for a so called triple net rent.<<<
Landlords are allowed under Florida Law to not pay ad valorem property taxes for any building or portion thereof that is rented to a public charter school. In such cases, the landlord must provide a notarized letter acknowledged by the school expressing how much the rent is being reduced to the school in return for such a tax break; the reduction to the rent should be equivalent to the amount of that tax break. If the property owner has not paid the taxes on the property and on top of that he has charged rents that are double what they should be, he is in more trouble than he realizes.
Guys like Alonso are the same types that get behind things like the new stadium for the Marlins. They use the system for personal gain because they have no scruples. Our entire democracy is threatened when citizens lose faith in the system when it is so widely abused in order to benefit the few. Where is this all going to lead us? Not even a school is sacred to this clowns!
Dear Grape: After what you yourself called "the December fiasco at A&M"; I believe at some point you stated that you met, to discuss business issues, with the school founder/owner. To quote your own words "you found him to be a well mannered gentleman with a lot of class" who cares a lot about the Grove community. Just out of curiosity: do you still hold that same view now?
Yes. He has only ever shown me respect and class even after you all have torn him apart here. Many would turn their backs on me. He has done the opposite, welcomed me with open arms and said he knows I am just doing my job.
Sometimes different people take longer to express themselves, and it is worth reading because they give specifics.
Basically we have all been fooled by a well dressed and well versed delinquent. Wouldn't be the first time, and certainly won't be the last. I just hope that everyone who has taken part in this fiasco pays to the extreme extent of the law. I know that not only myself but my children are counting away the days in which they will no longer need to see neither Alonso or Machado. (A.K.A. the Walrus) God knows what he is hiding inside that huge out of date mustache... could it be all of A&M's money and illegal secrets? All I can say to the students and the teacher's is to hang in there the end is almost near. Oh and by the way, the Miami Arts Charter is looking to hire teachers and holding more auditions. The reason Alonso welcomes you with open arms is because you keep your friends close and you enemies even closer kind of mentality. The Pen is mightier than the Sword.
This will hopefully help to clarify both the comment posted at 11:20 am and the Grapevine reply posted subsequently. Please let's not confuse class with character. Both Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Meyer Lansky were "classy gentlemen"; well dressed, they could sit down with you and discuss from Greece to the Roman Empire to the music of Richard Wagner. They had the manners of high level diplomats; yet when it came to MONEY and business deals they were ruthless and lethal. The fact that a person has the appearance of an educated college professor does not preclude them from being ruthless and lethal when it comes to monies and business deals. Am I getting the message accross?
What a benevolent man! The school founder is willing to cover the school deficit out of his own pocket as a "gift". What a benevolent and philantropic man! Yet when he was asked, many many times, to provide funds to properly fix the acoustic ceiling of the music room he consistently refused claiming lack of funds. When he was told many many times that the music room was innadecuate he ignored the pleas claiming "I don't have the monies". What a benevolent man!
I agree with the comment posted on 3/24 at 6:39 p.m. You are correct; that is why it is called "white collar crime". Let's not forget that the executives of both Enron Corp and the accounting firm Arthur Andersen they all looked like classy distinguished gentlemen wearing expensive suits - and all know the outcome of the investigation and subsequent dimise of those two companies.
A word of caution to those posting comments in this blog. I believe an important battle has been won just by having the administration of A&M investigated; however, this is not the end of the war - it is only one small victory. You need to be moderate in the language that you use here; otherwise, Machado and Alonso (especially Machado) will unlesh their wrath on the kids for the remaining two months of classes. Those kids have already gone thru the unjustified demised of their music and chorus teachers; and of course they did not accept it. And the school administration has not forgiven the kids nor the parents for not accepting such arbitrary and unjustifiable decision.
As a long-time resident of Coconut Grove and one who is a ardent supporter of the arts, I can only say that I would have to lean in favor of those criticizing the school's chiefs. Years ago our beloved Playhouse was in the cross-hairs of the ubiquitous Alonso. In the name of "saving" our playhouse he proposed a plan that would have made him a direct benefactor in the historic landmark's development. Good grief! As if we don't all know him all too well! Is there anyone who still wonders about this man's motivations about anything? He's not the only one--just look at Jeff Loria! They all have the same playbook. All I say is "Keep Fighting 'em!!"
Post a Comment
<< Home