A Colorado Springs school is under investigation by the legislative body that governs the state’s charter schools, according to a letter from Senior Assistant Attorney General Joseph Peters.

Peters issued a cease-and-desist order to the Colorado Springs Charter Academy on April 22, alleging that the school’s board committed several violations of the Colorado Charter School Institute’s School Compliance Policy.

The CSI normally informs schools when they are in breach of contract. But rather than wait for the institute to issue the notice though its legal and policy staff, Peters wanted to get the notice out before a board meeting that he alleges was purposely scheduled at a time when a particular member could not attend, according to the letter.

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“Given the extraordinary nature of today’s board meeting, I am taking the extraordinary step of issuing this notice myself,” Peters’ letter read. “CSI demands that the CSCA board cease and desist from appointing new board members until further notice, to avoid further breach of the charter contract.”

According to the order, CSCA violated its duties by allowing at least one board member, Summer Groubert, to operate with little to no oversight by school administrators. Peters alleges that Groubert was allowed to become an authorized signer on the school’s operating account, which means she could withdraw or allocate funds without permission. She also had “edit access to the school’s accounting system, and (had) a purchase card with a $50,000 limit – all at the same time.”

Groubert and another board member, Najah Lamborn, were allowed to authorize payments without approval from head of school Zoe Ann Holmes, according to the letter.

Groubert told KRDO on Wednesday that the letter and accusations are an intimidation effort and that she has always acted in accordance with board policy. 

Groubert is currently running for the state House of Representatives as a Republican in District 18, a seat held by Democrat Marc Snyder. She did not respond on Thursday to a request by The Gazette for comment.

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Groubert’s financial access and authority have since been removed, officials said.

The assistant attorney general’s letter also named CSCA’s building corporation as a concern, stating that the company has been delinquent in its required financial transparency for nearly 10 years.

The letter demands that the CSCA board hold a special election within 30 days of the April 22 letter. Attempts to reach Holmes, the head of school, and board president Breckenridge Merkle were unsuccessful.

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