Arizona Charter Board votes to continue process of shutting down Primavera

PHOENIX — Primavera Online School owner and multi-millionaire Damian Creamer flexed his muscles in a fight with the Arizona Charter Board on Tuesday.

The battle didn’t go as he planned.

Creamer and his wife, Noelle, gave Chandler-based Primavera employees the day off and chartered two buses to take them to the Capitol with the promise of a free picnic. 

They also said there would be a press conference following the board’s vote, but Creamer decline to speak with the media. 

Approximately 50 Primavera supporters disembarked from the buses around 9:30 a.m. and then proceeded to the Charter Board meeting. These included people whose jobs may be in danger as thousands of students would need to find a new school if Primavera’s charter is revoked. 

There were so many supporters that some were turned away because of capacity concerns.

Their goal: Pressure the Charter Board to reverse a vote made in March, when it decided to initiate the process to shut down the school because of three consecutive years of “D” letter grades.

That decision came after the 12News I-Team uncovered that Creamer paid himself roughly $24 million from tax dollars since 2016, and then Primavera’s academic scores plummeted. In fact, records show that just nine percent of its students tested at grade level in math last year.

Creamer sat silently in the second row of Tuesday’s meeting, and he did not address the board.

Previously, he argued that Primavera, also known as American Virtual Academy, should have had lower grading standards as an alternative school. He also said administrative and paperwork issues caused the problem. 

His supporters repeated those arguments on Tuesday, saying Primavera would have received “C” letter grades the past three years had that been the case.

Yet, Charter Board members in prior meetings disputed those claims, saying the school did not meet minimum benchmarks. 

On Tuesday, Sean Ross, executive director of the Arizona Board of Education, said Primavera never appealed their “D” letter grades in the past three years — despite having numerous opportunities to do so.

Charter Board members also expressed disdain that Primavera was trying to circumvent the appeals process.

“We have heard information that, in my opinion, is essentially irrelevant to our past decision,” said board member Vice President Hans-Dieter Klose. “Therefore, the board moves to proceed with the revocation of the contract of American Virtual Academy for failure to meet the academic performance expectations.”

During its vote, a few board members blasted Primavera for their excuses.

“This decision is incredibly difficult,” said board member Wendy Miller. “I do believe it’s a false narrative that it’s a paperwork process. It runs much deeper. It’s a high-stakes process governed by statute.”

Board member James Swanson added Primavera was “asking this board to do what I would call statutory contortions,” and it was unreasonable and unfair to ask the board to change its vote.

The board voted unanimously, 10-0, against Primavera. 

Swanson also pushed back on claims that Creamer, one of his lawyers and some elected Republican leaders have made that the process is a “witch hunt.” 

“There’s been a notion out there expressed by some that this process is run by activists that are anti-school choice. I want to put an end to that discussion,” Swanson said. “I am fully in favor of school choice. I am in favor of quality school choice.” 

12News attempted to speak with Creamer after the meeting, but he and his attorney quickly exited after the vote. His attorney also grabbed what appeared to be props for a press conference that did not occur.

However, Creamer did provide box lunches from Firehouse Subs to those who stayed after the meeting.

Primavera may now appeal the Charter Board’s decision before an administrative law judge Sept. 8-11. The school, which has several thousand students, can stay open during its appeal.

For tips on this or any other stories, contact the reporter, Craig Harris at [email protected].  

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