Proposed charter school pulls out, citing uproar over faked letters

• By Keith Eddings keddings@eagletribune.com 
• Feb 1, 2019
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LAWRENCE — The director of a charter school that hoped to enroll 640 students at Riverwalk on Merrimack Street abruptly withdrew his application for state approval on Friday, following the uproar when the leaders of several community organizations accused him of faking their names on letters to the state supporting his application.
Frank DeVito, a Lynn resident and former history teacher in Chelsea, denied faking the letters but acknowledged there were “misunderstandings” with the organizations.
Nevertheless, the blow-back was intense enough that DeVito withdrew his 607-page charter application – more than a year in the making – to state Education Commissioner Jeff Riley only five days after the first of several non-profits accused him of sending letters in their names that they said they never saw or authorized.
“In order for (our) mission to be realized, partnerships are essential and given the misunderstandings over the last week, we believe that we need to step back and work to repair our relationship with community organizations,” DeVito said in a statement he emailed to Riley and the philanthropies that so far have given or pledged more than $2 million to the school. “We are deeply sorry to disappoint the many families and supporters who were as excited as we were to offer this opportunity to students in the 2019-2020 school year.”
DeVito said he already had spent about $350,000 in private grant money over the last year – including for his $66,000 annual salary, which was to increase to $155,000 when his school opened – and had enrolled 200 fifth- and sixth-graders for the semester that would have begun in August or September had he received a charter. Enrollment would have grown as the school added new grades over the years, until adding a 12th grade in 2026.
DeVito's proposal for his school, which he called Equity Lab Charter School, ran into a wall of opposition from the beginning in Lawrence, which already hosts three charter schools.
Local political and education leaders, led by Mayor Daniel Rivera and Lawrence Teachers Union president Frank McLaughlin, accused DeVito of “shopping around” his proposal for the school after the state education department rejected his proposal for a similar school in Lynn, four times.
Opponents also said DeVito's decision to place Gerry-Lynn Darcy, who is senior vice president for leasing for developer Sal Lupoli's buildings, on Equity Lab's board would pose a conflict of interest.
The school planned to rent as much as 64,000 square feet in Lupoli's Riverwalk development at a cost of about $1.1 million annually, which could allow Darcy to negotiate with the school for the lease on behalf of Lupoli, then vote on the lease on behalf of the school. Darcy said she would recuse herself on matters involving the lease.
McLaughlin piled on more criticism Friday.
“Let this be a warning to those who think they can come to Lawrence and con us in to accepting something we don't want or need,” McLaughlin said.
Rivera was only a little less harsh.
“In the end, it's the kids of the city of Lawrence who win in situations like this,” he said. “Now that the application is no longer valid, we can go back to making our schools better for all kids.”
Through a spokeswoman, Education Commissioner Riley declined to comment on DeVito's decision. Riley never took a public position on whether to recommend Equity Lab for a charter to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. His decision could have come as early as next week, in time for the board to issue – or deny – the charter at its  Feb. 12 meeting.
Spokesman for the three major national philanthropies backing Equity Lab did not return phone calls Friday.
Among them, the Barr Foundation in Boston gave the school $100,000 and pledged $200,000 more, according to Equity Lab's application to Riley. The New Schools Venture Fund in Oakland, California, gave $215,000 and had pledged up to $950,000 more. The Walton Family Foundation, pledged $100,000 annually for the first five years.
The uproar over DeVito's letters began Monday, when Susan Grabski, director of the Lawrence History Center, sent him a blistering email accusing him of faking her support and demanding he rescind the letter bearing her name that he sent to Riley.
“As you are well-aware, I never signed the letter nor did I authorize that it be sent to DESE,” Grabski told him, referring to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which Riley heads. “Likewise, I never authorized you to send or forward any such letter to any third party or entity nor did I authorize you in any way to use Lawrence History Center's name, logo or mark whether authentic or not.”
Grabski also advised DeVito that her name is misspelled in the letter alleging the History Center's support for Equity Lab Charter School. The letter ends with “Sincerely, Susan Grabinski,” although Grabski's signature does not appear above her misspelled name.
In another letter DeVito sent to Riley alleging the support of the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, the last name of Christine Jee, the gallery's Education Associate, is misspelled as Yee.
Letters from the leaders of other prominent non-profits in the region also said they never authorized the letters DeVito sent in their names.
“Just reaching out to let you know the Elevated Thought board, which I serve on, was just made aware that forged letter of support for Equity Lab was included with their application,” Jessica Vilas Novas, a board member of Elevated Thought, wrote in an email to Mayor Rivera. “Neither the Elevated Thought board or (its) director approved a letter.”
“This is definitely not my writing,” Dan Halloran, who was executive director of the Lawrence YMCA on Sept. 20, the date of another letter of support to Riley that bears his name and alleges his support for the proposed charter school,” said in an interview earlier this week. “I have no problems with the charter school. I just don't think I wrote this letter.”
It all ended Friday, when DeVito emailed his statement to Riley, the philanthropies, his board of directors and the press insisting he acted in good faith but acknowledging he had lost the city's trust and was withdrawing his application for a charter.
“We want to clearly and emphatically state that we believed the letters of support submitted in our charter school application were authorized by our community members,” DeVito said. “We did not falsify the letters in any way.”
He said he or his staff visited the leaders of each of the non-profits, seeking permission to write a letter of support in their names, then wrote the letters on their behalf sent them to the agencies for review.
In a interview after sending the email, DeVito did not rule out making another effort for a charter, which would be his sixth.
“We consider Equity Lab a movement,” he said. “Movements take years. If it takes six, 12, 24 years, we consider it a movement. Failure is part of the process. (New England Patriots quarterback) Tom Brady is five (wins) and three (loses) and going to the Superbowl (sic). We're free to fail because we believe in the project. It's not just about opening a school.”