Below are a series from e-mails from an anonymous stakeholder and the Pencader school leader. Ann Lewis uses her Pencader state e-mail account. All e-mails are FOIAable and public.
This release has been authorized by my source, the other half of the communication and is being done as a result of Ms. Lewis? reaction to being told by her own board member that student may have been neglected in her school. This isn?t about betraying a confidence, this is a sad, additional chapter in Delaware Charter School history. At the time of this e-mail, the Delaware Charter Network is maintaining its silence on this issue. Notably, so is the unfailingly pro-charter, ?philanthropic? Rodel foundation.
Below are two series of e-mails asking for clarification surrounding the diploma mill scandal and the pension fraud. Sarah_Ster is fiction from the standpoint of identification, but her questions and Ms. Lewis? answers are additional nuggests of information that inform taxpayers, stakeholders, and public agencies (we all hope):
From: ?Ann Lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 6:38:23 PM
Subject: RE: QuestionsHi Sarah,
One more note to be sure you have ALL of the information?the previous Board President, Mrs. Minnehan is the one that approved all salaries for everyone?I don?t approve salaries, it is not part of my job. We have Human Resources and the Board who follow State guidelines for pay, and we only pay 90% of the Christiana School District?s Salary Scale (which is online for everyone to review). We use their salary scale because that is where most of our students come from.
Again?just making sure you have all the information you need.
Thanks again!
Warmest regards,
Ann
From: ?Ann Lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 2:46:46 PM
Subject: RE: QuestionsHi Sarah,
I forgot to mention that Mr. Lewis never taught a business ethics class?his background is in mathematics and EnglishJ
Warmest regards,
Ann
Ann E. Lewis
School Leader
Pencader Charter HS
170 Lukens Drive
New Castle, DE 19720
Phone: (302) 573-7760
Fax:?????? (302) 472-0796
ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us
www.pencadercharter.net
From: ?Ann Lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 1:57:08 PM
Subject: RE: QuestionsHi Sarah,
Thanks so much for being willing to seek clarification, I wish more would do this?the News Journal quote things incorrectly, and that seems to be the usual for them. First of all, his compensation was not for volunteer work and the amount stated was gross?because he was a contractor, no taxes is taken out so he is responsible for paying that. He handled the resource room and a lot of work with our Special Education students, along with teaching a full time class?he also helped with lunch duties, bus duties, and handling overloads from being short-handed last year because of what happened with the previous administration and being so far in debt. He worked with students all day and throughout the afternoons, often to 5 pm or later.
He was in every morning early and handled incoming buses as well as monitoring them in the afternoons. Every student met him every morning, and I must tell you, that they missed him terribly when he was no longer there to greet them. Having him handle this particular duty left Mrs. Fraser and me free to work directly with students from the moment they arrived until classes began?and then, of course, he was involved with kids all day long.
What is interesting to me about the article, was that all three teachers are in the same situation relative to being pensioners (as are hundreds of pensioners state-wide) but the NJ makes him and me appear to be doing something illegal, but not anyone else?I just don?t get it?but, then again, it is the NJ.
Please feel free to continue to ask anything you would like. I am happy to share the correct information for you.
Warmest regards,
Ann
Ann E. Lewis
School Leader
Pencader Charter HS
170 Lukens Drive
New Castle, DE 19720
Phone: (302) 573-7760
Fax:?????? (302) 472-0796
ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us
www.pencadercharter.net
From: Sarah_Ster [mailto:sarah_ster@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 1:30 PM
To: Ann Lewis
Subject: Re: QuestionsI thought I would send you an email to try to get more facts around what is going on at the school.? The News Journal did not portray things as going very well regarding teacher salaries.? The most disturbing part had to do with your husband collecting $6,500/month for teaching a morals and ethics class.? The article said you felt justified giving this salary because of the volunteer hours he puts in.? That doesn?t sit well.? Is there an explanation for this that the News Journal didn?t print?
Thank you,
Sarah
From: ?Ann Lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 3, 2012 1:57:58 PM
Subject: RE: QuestionsHi Sarah,
I would agree?and it seems that anyone will hang on to a thread of information and go viral with it prior to actually finding out the facts.
I certainly understand?and you are a good friend?but please let anyone know that I am happy to discuss anything with any parent/community member. I too am in the same position you are?this is a very small state and it seems the facts don?t seem to matter.
Thanks so much?
Best,
Ann
Ann E. Lewis
School Leader
PCHS
170 Lukens Drive
New Castle, DE 19720
Phone:? (302) 573-7760
Fax:??????(302) 472-0796
ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us
http://www.pencadercharter.net/
From: Sarah_Ster [sarah_ster@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2012 1:45 PM
To: Ann Lewis
Subject: Re: QuestionsI am helping out a friend who does not feel comfortable addressing her questions directly.? It is kind of sad that we live in such a small state that some people fear something they say may be used against them.? I have to say I feel that way too.? Not just with schools.
Sarah
From: ?Ann Lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 3, 2012 1:22:32 PM
Subject: RE: QuestionsHi Sarah,
Not a problem at all. I do not recognize your name as a?parent of a student here at Pencader.? If you are a parent, who is your student. As I mentioned, I would be happy to sit down to discuss any issues/concerns that you or anyone else might have.
Warmest regards,
Ann
Ann E. Lewis
School Leader
Pencader?Charter HS
70 Lukens Drive
New Castle, DE 19720
Phone: (302) 573-7760
Fax:?????(302) 472-0796
ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us
http://www.pencadercharter.net/
From: Sarah_Ster [sarah_ster@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2012 1:15 PM
To: Ann Lewis
Subject: Re: QuestionsThank you for the response.? I think it is important that your information be shared with everyone.? It seems you have reasonable explanations for the different questions that are being posed on the blogs.? That should help eliminate some of the negative discussion that is going on.? I will share the information with a couple of my friends.? I think it will make them feel better. Maybe a question and answer section on the Pencader website will help with communicating the answers to questions that are coming up.? I was tired of listening to the blog discussions and wanted to try to find out what was really going on.
Sarah
From: ?Ann Lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>, ?abraham jones? <abraham.jones@comcast.net>, ?Amanda Fraser? <amanda.fraser@pcs.k12.de.us>, ?Judi Kennedy? <judi.kennedy@pcs.k12.de.us>, ?Steven Quimby? <steve.quimby@pcs.k12.de.us>
Sent: Tuesday, July 3, 2012 9:12:20 AM
Subject: RE: QuestionsMs. Ster,
Our e-mail system had been down since 9 am Friday morning due to an e-mail migration from Google Mail to the State e-mail system. We are just now beginning to receive e-mails from the final migration. None of us received your e-mail of June 29th.
Please see my responses below. If you need further clarification, please feel free to question any of our Board Members.
Ann E. Lewis
School Leader
Pencader?Charter HS
170 Lukens Drive
New Castle, DE 19720
ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us
http://www.pencadercharter.net/
From: Sarah_Ster [sarah_ster@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2012 8:17 AM
To: abraham jones; Amanda Fraser; Judi Kennedy; Steven Quimby; Ann Lewis
Subject: Fwd: QuestionsFrom: ?Cruce Daniel? <dcruce@DOE.K12.DE.US>
To: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 3, 2012 12:15:00 AM
Subject: RE: QuestionsThe school leader and/or the Board should indeed respond to your questions
________________________________From: Sarah_Ster [mailto:sarah_ster@comcast.net]
Sent: Mon 7/2/2012 11:38 PM
To: Cruce Daniel
Subject: Fwd: QuestionsMr. Cruce,
On Friday, I sent the Pencader board the following questions. ?Their website says to contact them if anyone has questions. ?Am I correct in expecting information or is this information that I shouldn?t be allowed to know?
Thank you,
Sarah
________________________________From: ?Sarah_Ster? <sarah_ster@comcast.net>
To: ?abraham jones? <abraham.jones@comcast.net>, ?amanda fraser? <amanda.fraser@pcs.k12.de.us>, ?judi kennedy? <judi.kennedy@pcs.k12.de.us>, ?steve quimby? <steve.quimby@pcs.k12.de.us>, ?ann lewis? <ann.lewis@pcs.k12.de.us>
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2012 10:20:49 AM
Subject: QuestionsCan you provide some information about the following questions I have. ?A lot of what I know comes from the blogs. ?I am hoping you can provide some clarification. ?I figure I will go to the source.
-How will the school operate without a school leader after tomorrow. ?If I understand correctly, Lewis? contract expires tomorrow. ?I am still the School Leader. None of our 12 month contracts have been renewed and won?t be until we begin to put together the next year?s budget.
-According to the blogs, there are payments being made to a consulting firm that has a business license address at Lewis? home address. ?What is that? PCHS has several staff members on contracts through their own business. Mr. Lewis was one of them. All staff members with their own contracts have their home addresses listed on their business licenses. Contracted employees are used throughout the State in almost every school district. Contracted employees actually save the organizations dollars because they pay their own taxes and medical benefits.
-The budget shows a very small amount of money allocated for lawyer fees in the 2012-2013 budget yet the lawyer fees for this year were many, many times more than that. ?How is this an accurate budget? There were several lawsuits left from the previous administration. These suits took a great deal of attorney input to end them in a way that benefited PCHS with no reprecussions; going forward, attorney?s fees should be minimal, but no 2012-2013 expected budget was presented. That process begins shortly, so we are not sure even where you think allocations for lawyer fees was presented.
-Were new board members elected last night? No new Board Members were elected, only presented, but Ms. Dobo was at the meeting, she could have told you that.
-How are two lease payments being eliminated from the 2012-2013 budget? If needed, the same thing that occurred this year will occur next year. The lease payments were not ?eliminated? but rather placed at the back end of the current lease, thus extending our lease with our landlord.
-When did Lewis get her Westfield University degree? ?She has been calling herself a doctor for a couple of years now. ?Have you seen the verification about her degree yet? ?I know it isn?t necessary for her job, but she stated she has it and would provide it. It was several years ago. I am still waiting to hear from them. As soon as my documentation arrives, it will be shared. I would be happy to discuss this with you. Please feel free to stop in any time.
-I am hearing that two of the pro-Lewis speakers last night were vendors and the third speaker was a relative of the Lewis family. ?True? As anyone at the meeting will share,?no one was ?pro-Lewis? but rather concerned that the NJ does not print all the positive?events. Mr. Carbine is our IT Coordinator and is a vendor. His son graduated in June. Mr. Evans is not a vendor, but the parent of one of our students. There was no family member of mine at the meeting on Thursday, June 28th.?I believe other parents have similar questions but are afraid to speak out because of the consequences their kids may experience at the school. ?There seems to be a group of kids that have an in with the administration and a bunch that don?t. No one should?ever be afraid to speak and certainly no one on campus would ever use a child in that way. There is no special group?students are treated fairly and equally across the board. Before making accusations or assumptions, we welcome anyone to spend time on campus?talk to our staff, speak with our students?you will find a very different atmosphere than the one you are projecting.
Sarah
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