Charter's board ousts its founder

Vuong Thuy, the founding chief executive of an academically successful North Philadelphia charter school, was toppled by his handpicked board after a monthlong campaign by parents and staff.

The board of the Multi-Cultural Academy Charter School last week voted unanimously to remove Thuy from his leadership position after being besieged by complaints of a rodent infestation, unsanitary bathrooms, and a "toxic" climate in which staff, parents, and students were berated and demeaned.

Parents and staff also expressed concern that charter school money was being drained to represent Thuy in connection with a federal probe and a state ethics investigation.

Stephanie Johnson, who helped mobilize other parents, said she was even more shocked when the school produced a record indicating it had spent $222,000 in the last 12 months to represent Thuy in various investigations.

"This has nothing to do with the children," she said.

The investigations were spawned by a charter school report that the City Controller's Office released last spring. The controller questioned Thuy's ties to a related organization that owns Multi-Cultural's building.

The board placed Thuy on leave. When he returns, he will serve in the new post of director of strategic planning, where he will oversee fund-raising, planning, and grant-writing until his contract ends in June 2012.

James Higgins, who has been assistant CEO for four years and who has handled most day-to-day operations for the last two, was named acting headmaster.

Board president Tae-Ock Kauh outlined the changes in a letter to parents that also praised Thuy for his vision.

"It is a new day for Multi-Cultural Academy, and we can get to go back . . . to our passion, which is the education of our kids," Higgins said.

Thuy on Friday declined to comment on the upheaval at the school he founded in 1998.

Multi-Cultural is based at 3821 N. Broad St. in buildings that once belonged to the former St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Parish. The school has 202 students from ninth through 12th grades.

The charter has a strict behavior code, focuses on preparing students for college, and boasts a record of academic success. The school has exceeded state benchmarks for four consecutive years. In 2009-10, 77 percent of 11th graders scored at grade level or higher in math, and 61.5 percent in reading.