Academica (charter school)

Academica Dade LLC

Company type	Privately held company
Industry	Education
Founded	1999;25 years ago (1999)
Headquarters	Miami, Florida
Revenue	$39.8 million (modelled) [1]  (2021)
Owner	Fernando Zulueta
Number of employees	165 (modelled) [1]  (2021)
Website	www.academica.org

Academica is a for-profit private education company headquartered in Miami, Florida. As an education service provider (ESP), it services over 200 public charter schools in the United States. ^[2] It is owned and managed by CEO Fernando Zulueta and is considered one of Florida's largest school management companies. In 2011 it reported $158 million in revenue. ^[3]

Origins

Fernando Zulueta had created a Miramar, Florida housing development in 1997 that needed a local school for the residents. He recruited Ruth Jacoby, who had over twenty years experience with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to be the first principal for Somerset Neighborhood School, a non-profit Charter school authorized by the Florida legislature in 1996. ^[4] Zulueta incorporated Academica in 1999 as a for-profit provider of services to charter schools. With the help of his brother, they grew an empire of 200 charter schools that rely on Academica for curriculum, tests, facilities, security, staff recruitment, budgeting, accounting and other services. The company also assists clients in launching independent charter schools by writing charter school applications, establishing corporate structures, providing experts to advocate and lobby government agencies, managing public relations & marketing, and ensuring regulatory compliance. ^[5] The “Academica umbrella” schools are from networks including Somerset Academy, Doral Academy, Pinecrest Academy and Mater Academy. ^[4]

Political connections

While Erik Fresen was in the Florida legislature (2008–2016) he chaired the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee. His architectural firm had financial ties to Academica and his brother-in-law was Fernando Zulueta. He had also worked as an Academica lobbyist prior to his election. ^{[6] [7]} A conflict of interest ethics complaint was filed against him in 2011 for voting on a proposal that would give benefits to some charter schools, and in the 2016 legislative session he fast-tracked a bill to force Florida public school districts to share their construction tax money with charters. ^[8]

While serving the in Florida Legislature, Anitere Flores and Manny Díaz Jr. both worked as corporate officers at Doral College ^[9] and helped ease restrictions on charter schools. Doral College is associated with Academica. ^[10]

Controversy

Academica came under controversy as its owners also own significant real estate assets, which house the charter schools that are exempt from property tax. In 2010, the owners of Academica own more than 20 companies doing business with Academica schools. ^[3] Moreover, it was claimed that the school boards, which approve the real estate contracts, are financially connected to Zulueta. ^{[3] [11]}

In 2007, Miami-Dade school district auditors asked the Miami-Dade state attorney's office to investigate a multi-million construction contract to build an Academica charter school given to a contractor which served on the same school's board. ^[3]

Between 2013 and 2014, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the US Department of Education has conducted an audit of the relationship between charter schools and ESP's, including Academica's schools in Florida, identifying related party transactions between the for-profit Academica and a real estate company that leased both buildings and security services to the schools. ^{[12] [13]}

References

1. "Academica Dade LLC". Dun & Bradstreet. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
2. "Academica's website". ACADEMICA.
3. Kathleen McGrory, Scott Hiaasen (December 13, 2011). "Academica: Florida's richest charter school management firm". Miami Herald.
4. Bakeman, Jessica (September 17, 2019). "What is Somerset?". WLRN News. WLRN-TV. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
5. "Services and Support". Academica. Academica Inc. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
6. Hiaasen, Scott; McGrory, Kathleen (December 14, 2011). "Company Cultivates links to Lawmakers". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
7. "ACADEMICA CORPORATE PROFILE". Cashing in on Kids. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
8. Veiga, Christina (February 12, 2016). "Rep. Fresen's close ties to charter schools continue to raise questions of conflict". Miami Herald . Retrieved February 12, 2016.
9. Sweeney, Dan (October 21, 2016). "Lawmaker's role in unusual charter school college is at center of state House race". Sun-Sentinel . Retrieved March 12, 2021.
10. Klas, Mary Ellen (September 13, 2011). "Ralph Arza: A window into the revolving door of legislator to charter school lobbyist". Miami Herald . Retrieved March 12, 2021.
11. Klein, Rebecca (April 6, 2017). "Betsy DeVos Chooses To Tout A Problematic Charter School Founded By Pitbull". HuffPost Canada.
12. Strauss, Valerie (May 3, 2019). "Florida's charter-school sector is a real mess". WaPo. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019.
13. McGrory, Kathleen. "Florida charter school management company under federal scrutiny". Tampa Bay Times.