robertdibacco.brandyourself.com RobertDiBacco.com
This article was written by Robert Di Bacco, Chief Operating & Financial Officer of the Arizona Charter Schools Association. It was written in response to articles that appeared in the Arizona Republic newspaper which were not factual and published in attempt to fit a negative narrative surrounding charter schools in Arizona. Below is the truth.
As an immigrant and a first-generation college graduate, I understand the power of public education to change lives. I chose to work in the charter school sector because of my passion for educational equity and excellence for all children, especially those who lack the quality public school options they deserve. I joined a non-profit support organization, the Arizona Charter Schools Association as a leader working to expand access to quality public charter schools for all students.
I am concerned by the Arizona Republic’s articles on Aug. 13 and Sept. 7 regarding the Association’s role, and in particular my role, in the closure of SySTEM school. These stories appear to be intentionally misleading as they were not based on the facts. Especially today when journalists must often defend themselves against allegations of “fake news,” I expect scrupulous fact-checking from reporters so that readers are empowered to make the best decisions about their communities.
First, the Republic’s stories dangerously conflate the Association and the State Board for Charter Schools, creating the perception for readers that the Association has authority over charter schools. This is not true.
The truth: The Association is not a governmental body and it neither operates nor regulates charter schools; rather, it is a support organization that advocates for and strengthens the autonomy and quality of Arizona’s charter schools. The Charter Board is the main authorizer of charter schools, with accountability and oversight authority over them.
Second, the stories claimed that I exploited “insider information for personal gain” and that I was “forced to refund” compensation. Not true, again.
The truth: The Association learned that SySTEM school was abruptly closing its doors, due to low enrollment, leaving families with little time to find another school. Unprepared to handle the crisis, SySTEM’s board president contacted the Association, requesting support to provide the least disruptive transition for their families. Given the timing, the priority was the welfare of the 32 affected children. In addition to supporting the transition of students, the Association provided a variety of support tools to SySTEM including guidance to its staff and board members regarding compliance with Arizona’s open meeting law, the need for the board to formally vote on the school’s closure, and other logistics.
With only approximately 30 hours to help place students in another school, I disclosed to SySTEM that Enrollment Experts, my wife’s marketing company, had an existing professional relationship with a nearby B-rated school that had capacity and was available to support them to transition their students. SySTEM was fully aware of these circumstances, and agreed to pursue this plan – in fact, they were grateful for the much needed support given their situation and the need to act quickly in helping their students make alternate arrangements.
No insider information was used as SySTEM made available its public directory information. No money exchanged hands at that time, and there has been no “refund”, as Enrollment Experts has a long-standing policy of not accepting payment until the students remain enrolled in their new school for a stipulated period of time. My wife, however, paid, out of pocket, for classroom supplies and uniforms that would help ensure a smooth transition for the children transferring to a new school.
While I recognize a perceived conflict of interest in having Enrollment Experts help the affected students, the truth is that during this urgent time our focus was on helping find a quality school for 32 children. SySTEM chose to engage Enrollment Experts and confirmed this by providing publicly available directory information to the Association. While I regret the unintended consequences of this decision, I have no regrets about putting the best interests of children first.
About Robert Di Bacco
Robert Di Bacco is a skilled financial professional with extensive experience in international education. He has spent the past eight years as the Chief Operating and Financial Officer of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, a non-profit mission-driven organization. In this capacity he prepared detailed budgets, actively safeguarded the organization’s financial and physical assets and managed a staff of twenty. He also guided the finance committee of the board of directors and in conjunction with auditors, developed and oversaw the organization’s financial policies and procedures. In addition, he helped develop several multi-year strategic plans and executed strategies leading to the organization doubling in size, a five-fold increase in financial reserves and the development of sustainable revenue.
In addition to his financial acumen, he has a great understanding of independent schools, both boarding and day schools. He gained invaluable experience as an administrator at both The Orme School of Arizona and The American School in Switzerland, plus eight years as the founding director of The Gaia Schools in Chile and Argentina. He is truly an international citizen and is bilingual in English and Spanish with intermediate proficiency in French and Italian.
Prior to gaining experience in education, Robert was a bond underwriter with Travelers Group where he was promoted from financial analyst to underwriter after only one year. In this capacity, he analyzed and rated the risk of construction companies with revenues between $20M-$250M and generated over $1M in premiums through building broker and client relationships.
He has an honors bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario and a master’s in business administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
