MACSA leader did all she could to ‘keep things afloat’

The Dispatch broke the story of MACSA’s questionable financial practices in early 2009, when MACSA workers discovered their pension system had not been properly credited with money deducted from their paycheck. Around this time, allegations of MACSA’s crippling mismanagement and “self-protective measures” ignited a financial scandal at the agency’s two charter schools: Academia Calmecac in San Jose and the now defunct El Portal Leadership Academy on IOOF Avenue in Gilroy.
Extensive review regarding whether Olivia Soza-Mendiola and Ben Tan knowingly diverted money into operational expenses that was supposed to go into their employees’ retirement accounts ensued and a lengthy subsequent investigation by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office resulted in charges being filed.