Commission Chairwoman Sandra Dungee Glenn said the commission had set deadlines and called for reports confirming that changes have been made "to give us clear assurances that things have been cleaned up."
The action comes despite a continuing federal criminal investigation and a district investigation triggered by allegations of fiscal mismanagement, nepotism and conflicts of interest.
The SRC members said they were ready to renew the charter provided the changes were made.
Two months ago the SRC delayed acting on the charter renewal to give the district's inspector general time to complete his investigation.
The delay came a day after The Inquirer disclosed the allegations and reported that Gardiner and O'Shea, a former police officer with a high school diploma, were being paid more than most school superintendents in the area.
Philadelphia Academy is also the subject of a an internal probe by lawyers from the firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll.
Dungee Glenn said the sweeping changes the commission has ordered were more demanding than those imposed at Raising Horizons Quest Charter School in 2006 after the district inspector general found evidence of possible financial wrongdoing.
The district forced all board members there to resign, along with founder Martha Russell and her sister, Viola Bush, the school's chief financial officer. Both women await trial in U.S. District Court on charges of conspiracy and altering records.
Besides ordering all six members of the Philadelphia Academy board to resign before July 31, the commission said they must be replaced by a new board with up to seven members, including three elected parent representatives. By Oct. 31, all board members must complete training on the duties of nonprofit boards.
