Cyber charter school files suit against company

BEAVER, Pa. (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School has filed suit against its former business management company, alleging that the company violated its contract and wrongly used money earmarked for community development.
The company, Rodis LLC, earlier filed a breach-of-contract suit against the school.
In its suit filed Friday in Beaver County Court, the cyber charter school alleges that Rodis and its chief executive, Michael Barney, acquired a 143-acre site in Midland to build 275 homes for cyber school teachers but failed to turn the property over to a foundation as agreed. The school, which is seeking the property, said Barney instead borrowed against the property to pay debts.
Barney, however, said the property was "gifted" to the Rodis Foundation, which has a 99 percent interest in the property. He accused the school of illegally withholding payments, leaving the company with "liabilities of approximately 1 million."
The cyber charter school is the state's largest, with 4,500 pupils in Pennsylvania and 3,000 pupils in Ohio, New Mexico and Arizona.
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