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An article in Thursday's Miami Herald misstated some information from a district audit of charter school management company Academica and Mater Academy, one of the schools it runs:
The story said the audit accused Academica of engaging in illegal acts and questionable business practices.
In fact, the audit found ''no indications of fraud or abuse by staff of the schools.'' It did find ``questionable practices, which suggest that the [Mater] board and senior management represented by Academica, did not adequately fulfill their fiduciary duties to the charter schools they represent.''
The article said, ``The audit focused on a 2004 land deal in which a Panamanian company that lists the Zuluetas as directors paid $6.1 million to buy Mater Academy's Hialeah Gardens site.''
Mater's Hialeah Gardens site was purchased in May 2004 by School Development HG II LLC, a Florida corporation that listed Ignacio Zulueta as a ''managing member'' in 2004. State records show the company was wholly owned by Wolfson Hutton, a Panamanian company at that time. Ignacio Zulueta was also an officer and director of Wolfson Hutton, a spokeswoman for Academica has said, but Fernando Zulueta was neither at the time. In 2005, a Panamanian document lists both Ignacio and Fernando Zulueta as directors of Wolfson Hutton.
The article said the audit reported the Zuluetas were on the Mater board; the brothers say they were officers, but not voting members of the board.
In fact, the audit said the brothers were officers of Mater -- Fernando Zulueta was president until September 2004; Ignacio Zulueta was vice president/treasurer until February 2004 -- but did not say they were on the board of directors. Link