Three former staff members of Halau Lokahi Charter School, including co-founder Laara Allbrett, have been arrested on charges of first-degree theft, money laundering and illegal business activity.
They were released pending investigation by the attorney general’s office and have not been formally charged.
The attorney general’s office has been examining alleged misuse of public funds at the small Kalihi charter school, which was founded by Allbrett and her family members in 2001 with a curriculum focused on indigenous Hawaiian learning.
Reached on her cellphone Tuesday, Allbrett, 61, declined to comment, on the advice of her attorney.
A search warrant affidavit filed in court for a raid on the school by the attorney general in November listed an array of questionable spending totaling nearly$102,000. It included the purchase of "essential oils" and jewelry, and numerous payments to individuals for unspecified services without contracts or documentation.
"(I)t appeared that Laara Allbrett utilized the Halau Lokahi Charter School as a mechanism to appropriate State of Hawaii monies so that her friends, family members, and herself could benefit from these proceeds, which appears to be theft of public funds," chief special agent Daniel Hanagami wrote in the affidavit.
Allbrett went to the Sheriff Division Booking Facility on Keawe Street to be booked Jan. 23, listing a Houghtailing Street address. She was forced out as Halau Lokahi’s director in July after the school ran out of money and stopped paying its rent and teachers before the end of the academic year.
Her son, Adam K. "Kealii" Bright, who taught at the school until December, was arrested Jan. 6. His girlfriend, Rochelle Marie Tavares, Halau Lokahi’s former accounting clerk, was booked Tuesday.
Tavares, 42, was laid off in December when the school was restructured. She and Bright live together on Kaahumanu Street in Aiea. When reached by phone Tuesday, Tavares also told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser "no comment."
The trio was booked on the same three charges. First-degree theft involves amounts in excess of $20,000. Money laundering entails concealing the source of money obtained illicitly. The "illegal ownership of a business" charge refers to using income derived through racketeering or collection of an unlawful debt in the ownership or operation of an enterprise.
The $102,000 in questionable spending included $11,747 to Jewal Allbrett, a relative of Laara Allbrett’s. A total of $10,316 went to Rainbow Healing Arts, which Allbrett has said was for acupuncture for staff members and essential oils that she said helped students focus academically and overcome injuries, headaches and digestive problems.
While policy required that checks be made directly from the school’s account to vendors for their services, the search warrant said it appeared that Laara Allbrett concealed four payments totaling $6,760 to Angela Kahealani by using U.S. Postal Service money orders. An Internet search shows Angela Kahealani listed as a "clairvoyant psychic healer" on Kauai.
The school does not provide food services to its students, but numerous food purchases were listed, along with travel expenses.
As a public charter school, Halau Lokahi is largely funded with taxpayer dollars. In previous years it also received per-pupil funds from Kamehameha Schools, but that money ended in fall 2014 after the school failed to meet the terms of its contract.
Charter schools run under contracts with the Public Charter School Commission and report to their own governing board rather than the state Board of Education.
Halau Lokahi’s money troubles came to light toward the end of the last school year, when teacher salaries were cut off for lack of money, and the campus wound up with a $502,000 deficit. The charter school commission required the school to replace its governing board and director before opening for the current school year.
Despite dedicated efforts by a group of parents and others to restructure Halau Lokahi in December, the commission voted last month to issue a notice of revocation, the first step toward shutting down the campus. State funds were cut off at the end of January.
Nonetheless, the school is continuing to function, under the direction of a completely new board installed as part of the restructuring, while it appeals the commission’s decision.
Many students have switched to other campuses, but 62 students remain at the school, down from 114 at the start of January. It serves children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The school reduced its staff to 10 people from 18 in December, and none of Allbrett’s extended family is still working there.
