Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Class at Chamberlain

Going to cut it:

"School’s payments to leader’s trust raise questions" by Jenifer McKim and Koby Levin The Eye  October 07, 2016

A private residential school in Middleborough, which is facing allegations of student abuse, paid more than $800,000 to entities controlled by its executive director, raising questions of whether he uses the nonprofit for personal gain or misspends public funds, according to legal experts and a state lawmaker.

Hope he enjoyed the party!

The Chamberlain International School, which enrolls many students with psychiatric histories, paid Executive Director William Doherty a salary of $325,880 in 2015, but also made substantial payments to a real estate trust he oversees and a Netherlands-based company he owns, according to the school’s financial reports to the state. Chamberlain, registered as a charitable organization with the state, also employs Doherty’s ex-wife, her sister and his brother in senior management and administrative positions.

The questions about Doherty’s financial arrangements come after The Eye and WBUR radio reported in August that the special education school has regularly violated state regulations in instances where students were harmed, including the death of a teen in a car driven by a speeding staff member and alleged cases of sexual misconduct. The non-profit Disability Law Center issued a report in August that found excessive use of force in restraints, abusive staff threats, and failures to prevent suicide attempts, runaways and self-harm at the school, which has about 114 students from ages 11 to 22.

Chamberlain officials say they comply with state regulations, report most issues themselves and work with the state to resolve any problems. They described the center’s abuse report as “flawed” and “biased.”

Doherty, who co-founded the school in the 1970s, is both trustee and beneficiary of a trust that received $722,622 in rent payments from Chamberlain in the year ended August 2015, according to the school’s state filings and attorney. The Dutch company owned by Doherty received $103,903 that year from Chamberlain to recruit international students and increase enrollment, school records show.

Doherty’s ex-wife Jeanne Edwards, also a co-founder of Chamberlain, was paid $210,592 in the 2015 fiscal year as its chief operating officer, records show. Sarah Norfleet, her sister, earned $156,612 as program development director. Doherty’s brother Paul earned $88,550 as the school’s technology administrator in 2013, according to Chamberlain’s latest filing with the Internal Revenue Service. Paul Doherty’s LinkedIn profile says he still works there....

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Also see:

Middleborough students lifting for cancer

Abuse alleged at school for special-needs students

That's worse than the looting.