EDUCATION

Charter school in adult-club scandal has money woes

 

A party promoter that has been scheduling boozy bashes at a troubled Miami-Dade charter school has ties to the school’s principal, records show.

kmcgrory@miamiherald.com

The “Push It To Da Limit: The Flossin Edition” late-night party is still scheduled to go off Saturday night — but it won’t be at a South Miami-Dade charter school, as previously advertised.

Miami-Dade School District officials on Friday were still trying to determine whether the Balere Language Academy — a charter school already facing financial free-fall and increased school district scrutiny — has also been doubling as an after-hours nightclub.

This week district officials learned of R-rated party fliers, featuring bikini-clad women and bottles of booze, promoting a bash at 10875 Quail Roost Dr. — the address of the South Miami Heights charter school. Older ads, Twitter posts, Facebook photos and a string of parent complaints about smoky smells and empty beer bottles on campus also indicated past parties were held at the school.

Balere’s principal and founder, Rocka Malik, told The Miami Herald on Thursday that she knew nothing about any after-hours parties at her school. But records show the party promoter is tied to Malik’s husband: A phone number for the promoter comes back to a car-wash company managed by Malik’s husband, Clifton Smith, who is also a director of a pre-school at Balere. Malik and Smith did not return phone calls on Friday.

This is not the first time the school has come under fire: Last fall, school inspectors discovered that nine seventh-graders were being taught in a wooden storage shed on campus, records show. “Students had difficulty putting their legs comfortably under the desks,” district inspectors wrote in one report. When interviewed by an inspector with Miami-Dade’s building department, Malik denied that the shed was being used as a classroom, records show.

Balere’s attorney, Marlon Hill, blamed the newest scandal on a misprinted address in the party fliers. He said the ads were supposed to list the address of a dance hall down the road from the school.

“There will be no events [at Balere] this weekend or in the future,” Hill said. Miami-Dade police and county code inspectors will also be watching the school this weekend, said Vanessa Santana-Peñate, a spokeswoman for the county.

A worker at A Party Hall, an event space in a strip mall near the school, confirmed that “The Flossin Edition” was scheduled to be held Saturday at that venue, 10957 SW 186th St. But the worker, who declined to give his name, said the dance hall was not booked to host the party until Thursday — the same day that the school district sent a notice to Balere warning against any parties at the campus and after the fliers had been distributed. The worker would not say who booked the dance hall.

The printer who handled one of the party fliers also denied that his company changed the address printed in the handbills. He said he could not recall who ordered the fliers.

“We don’t do anything to the copy,” said Andre Khaleel of Quick Set Printing. “I’m only the printer. They bring me what they want to print. I don’t even read them.”

The controversy comes as Balere struggles to stay afloat amid a barrage of problems. Among them:

• A lender filed a foreclosure lawsuit against the school in June for failing to make payments on a $1.5 million mortgage — one of four mortgages on the school’s six-acre property, records show.

Read more Cashing In On Kids stories from the Miami Herald

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