Academy tackles budget shortfall.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 11/23/05): The Willamette Leadership Academy will hold a winter celebration, with a silent auction and dinner, at the Lane Events Center's Wheeler Pavilion from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Dec. 15. An article on Page D1 on Nov. 9 gave the wrong date.

VENETA - With fall enrollment perilously low, the board of the Willamette Leadership Academy on Tuesday laid off the charter school's principal and gave parents an urgent warning: Unless finances look up, the school will have to fold, possibly as soon as January.

"If you people love this program like I do, it's worth fighting for," longtime board Chairman David Wright told a group of more than a dozen parents gathered in the school library. "There's some hard decisions to make, and we need your help."

The vote to lay off Commander Larry Lyford followed a grim account of the school's financial status from founder and CEO Bill Lay. Outstanding bills exceed $37,000, he said, and without at least another 20-plus students, the military-style academy will continue to fall deeper into the hole, to the tune of nearly $9,000 more each month, he said.

The chief culprit, he explained, is a steep and unanticipated drop in enrollment. Last year's prediction was 150, and the school thought it had commitments from 110. "Only about 70 of them showed up on the first day of school," he said.

Some of the drop can be attributed to the Cascade Military Academy, a private alternative program that opened in Eugene in September. About half of its 42 students previously attended WLA, according to Cascade founder - and former WLA staff member - Tim Webb.

But Lay said much of the blame lies directly with the WLA.

"I think the big mistake that we have made is over the years we've gotten used to the idea that we'll just grow by word of mouth, and we've never had any trouble with that before," said Lay, who founded the program with his wife, Cate Lay, in 1993. `But I think since we moved out to Veneta, that's gotten harder. People are saying, `We can't find you' and `We didn't know you were here.' '

The academy's budget shortfall is only the latest in a long string of troubles.

Formerly known as the Pioneer Youth Corps Military Academy (PYCO), the school began as an after-school program for struggling students, and in 1997 expanded to a full-day, highly structured, private alternative program focused on leadership, discipline, teamwork and responsibility.

Private alternative programs receive state funds for every pupil referred there by local school districts, and can also accept students on a tuition basis, like a private school, although few do so. Charter schools receive public funds in a similar manner, but referrals aren't necessary and students can come from neighboring districts without permission.

PYCO successfully sought charter-school status after passage of the 1999 charter school law, still serving primarily at-risk middle and high school students. Its relationship with the Eugene district was bumpy from the start, with disagreements flaring over PYCO's financial management and curriculum. There also were noise complaints from neighbors at both buildings PYCO occupied.

In 2003, the Eugene School Board yanked the charter, and PYCO found itself briefly homeless, until the Fern Ridge School Board agreed to sponsor the charter and lease out the old Central Elementary School building.

While the relationship between WLA and the Fern Ridge district has been smooth, enrollment and finances have been frequent worries in the past two years.

Alarmed parents at Tuesday's meeting said they will do all they can in the next two months to boost enrollment and coffers. Some said they heard of WLA only by chance, underscoring the need to boost its public image.

Several urged the board to spare Lyford, whom they said is skilled at building rapport with both parents and students.

"He's the face of this school," said Terri Parris of Eugene, who has an 11th grade son at the school.

Lyford, whose full-time annual salary is $37,000 a year, has been half-time since October. He said he'll have to find another job, unless a speedy turnaround enables him to return.

The board backed off an initial motion to approve a statement saying the school would close unless finances improve by the end of December. Parents cautioned that such a declaration would frighten families away and prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

WLA FUNDRAISING

Willamette Leadership Academy is seeking donations and students to close a funding gap. A winter celebration and silent auction is planned for Dec. 16 at the Lane Events Center. Students are also making and selling custom-built, painted wooden chairs for $265 each. For information or to help, call the school at 935-6815.