Gym questions proposed Cooke charter operator

City Councilwoman Helen Gym said Tuesday that a New York-based charter chain lacks the qualifications to turn around Cooke Elementary School and that its proposed administrative costs are so high that the school would have 50 percent less to spend on classroom instruction.

Gym, who analyzed the proposal of Great Oaks Foundation Inc., said that its budget at Cooke calls for spending four times the amount on administration as the Logan school pays now, and includes a $550,000 management fee to the foundation.

"This company has proposed an indefensible use of public funds that will cost more than we currently spend while offering students even less than they already receive," Gym said in a news release accompanying her report. "Their proposed budget and academic programs are an unjustified mess."

The councilwoman, who has criticized Great Oaks before, also said the organization has never operated a turnaround school and has no experience working with K-5 students - a large share of students at K-8 Cooke.

Great Oaks operates charters in New York City; Newark, N.J.; Wilmington; and Bridgeport, Conn.

Gym's report, which was sent to Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., urges the district and the School Reform Commission to drop Great Oaks from consideration as a Renaissance charter operator.

Last month, the SRC began the process of handing Cooke and two other troubled schools to charter operators. A final vote is expected in April.

Michael Thomas Duffy, president of Great Oaks, criticized Gym as basing her report on a very preliminary proposal and misstating parts of it.

In a memo to Hite, Duffy said that members of the Great Oaks group had extensive turnaround experience, especially Rashaun Reid, the chief academic officer, who had a decade of experience in Philadelphia.

Great Oaks has been working on the extensive charter application required for the Renaissance program, and Duffy said it would be part of the final plan for Cooke, which is due March 11.

Peng Chao, who oversees turnarounds for city schools, said some of Gym's concerns about Great Oaks had been flagged by his office. He said he expected the charter application would address those issues.