SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Watch all four episodes of this ABC10 Originals investigation here.
After the leaders of Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools learned ABC10 was investigating the school and its spending, they invited us to an event dubbed “Around the World.”
Highlands rented out a 35,000-square-foot facility within Sacramento’s famous fairgrounds, Cal Expo. The space was filled with 38 booths, a stage with ongoing performances, a massive buffet and decorations for thousands of attendees to honor Highlands’ students culture and diversity.
“We have students from over 90 nations that speak over 50 languages,” said Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools Executive Director, Doc Smith.
“It’s a great opportunity for migrants to come here and learn English,” said Saima Babak, a Highlands student who came to the United States from Afghanistan.
Sacramento is home to one of the most diverse populations of immigrants in the nation.
As an adult charter school, Highlands recruited them – mushrooming to a current enrollment of around 15,000 students – making Highlands bigger than nine of California State Universities.
With each student, Highlands wins more government money. California funds public schools by attendance.
“Our absentee rate has gone like 50% lower by doing these inclusive events,” Smith told ABC10 at the Around the World event.
He says big events bring big attendance, and attendance brings more money.
“Attendance is really important for us, for funding – but I would say this… if you’re not at school, you’re not learning,” said Smith. “So, we emphasize getting people to school; we spend a ton of money on that.”
A ton of money that over 30 past and present Highlands employees told ABC10 they’re concerned about. Some sources were concerned about losing their jobs or retaliation for speaking out, so we protected their identity.
One current Highlands teacher spoke with us on-camera. The teacher said every single day they question the legality of how Highlands spends tax dollars, “especially with the money we seem to have endless supplies of."
Highlands is both a charter and public school, meaning your tax dollars pay for it and its events like Around the World.
During our conversation with Smith at the event, we asked him how much it cost.
“If I had to guess, probably around $25,000 to $30,000,” Smith said.
Yet records show Highlands paid $38,000 to a balloon company for decorating services alone for the Around the World event.
“It’s taxpayer dollars with very little oversight,” said the teacher.
Just five weeks prior to the event, Highlands sent staff to San Diego for professional development. ABC10 was provided with recordings of staff meetings where the trip was discussed by leadership.
“If you’ve never been at a Hyatt Manchester in San Diego, it’s about (one of the) two or three best hotels in California,” Doc Smith said of the hotel their employees stayed at. “Arguably one of the best locations on the water.”
The trip was mandatory for over 500 Highlands employees and included flights to San Diego and a three-night, water-front hotel stay at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
The cost? Just under $2 million dollars, board minutes show.
In the September board meeting, Highlands fiscal team estimated the cost for next year’s San Diego trip (2024-2025) would be $2,804,638. For the 2025-2026 year, their trip will go up to $3,252,844.
This money comes from educational grants from the state, Highlands fiscal team said.
“Unspent money, sometimes the state says, ‘Gee they didn’t spend it – give it back,’” noted Highlands Board Member Sonja Cameron in the September board meeting.
The fiscal team and board members agreed saying they did “not want to give it back so we should have a plan and spend it.”
“We picked a premium place, because I think we have premium staff,” Smith said in a staff meeting that ABC10 was provided a recording of. In the same meeting, Michael Roessler — Highlands Director of Student Engagement — recalled Smith coming up with the idea of going to San Diego.
“Doc looks over and says – the mad scientist that he is – says, ‘Why don’t we have a professional development in San Diego?’” said Roessler.
“We went to San Diego, not because there was some event or conference there that we could only attend that would change the course of our lives, but because Doc had an idea,” said the teacher. “I would love to hear from taxpayers to see what they think of that kind of idea.”
Past Highlands professional developments have been held at Lake Tahoe.
“It was just picturesque honestly,” said Jeanette Rowe, a former Highlands counselor who attended the Lake Tahoe trip. She said it included hotel-stays and meals for all staff members.
Highlands gets millions in government grants for professional learning, but staffers said the trips felt more like vacations.
“There’s nothing in my mind that stands out as helpful in terms of my professional development,” said Rowe. “What I will say is at 4 p.m. professional development was over… the expectation was like we were really going to party.”
“Unnecessary, utterly unnecessary trip,” said the teacher. “It was a party to celebrate Highlands.”
Recordings of staff meetings provided to ABC10 show school leaders echoing this sentiment:
- “It’s probably, probably more fun than professional development,” said Michael Roessler, Highlands Director of Student Engagement during a February staff meeting.
- “I can think of no better place to relax and see beautiful scenery and have access to restaurants,” said Doc Smith. “That’s why we’re going to San Diego.”
- “To enjoy yourself!” Doc Smith said. “You’ve earned it.”
During a nearly two-hour interview with Highlands Executive Director Doc Smith, ABC10 played Smith these recordings and asked him if these trips were truly professional development, or vacations.
“They went through intensive training, legal training, sexual harassment training,” said Smith.
He stands behind the $2,000,000 tax dollars spent on the trip.
“100%,” Smith said. “And if people enjoyed themselves, I think that’s part of learning.”
In addition to a trip for his staff, Smith told us he wanted to go to San Diego to get more enrollment for Highlands. He said he had an idea to recruit employees of the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego Hotel they stayed at as new students.
“I think it’s genius,” Smith said of his idea. “And I think taxpayers are going to be excited about the results.”
The school’s executives and board members have also traveled to places like Maui, Pebble Beach and France.
Smith justified spending tax dollars on these far-away, pricey destinations as a way to lobby for his charter school.
“We have to do it because we have to survive. Those places aren’t vacations! That’s where our politicians are going and we have to say, ‘Look it Black Caucus… Look it Latin Caucus… Mr. McCarty,’" said Smith, referring to California Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, who is running for Sacramento Mayor. “Who (McCarty) is anything but pro-charter school, who is going to run for mayor here in Sacramento.”
Smith went on to explain how the school has had to lobby for its survival in the past and currently. He went on to say Highlands’ Deputy Director Kevin Taylor went to Pebble Beach for the Black Caucus:
“We didn’t do it to spend two days there – I can’t golf – but Kevin went there and because of that, Kevin and his staff of misfit toys who don’t have an administrative credential, were called to Congress and the White House to speak on schools that are the solution… That didn’t happen because he’s handsome, and tall and black. He is tall and black. I don’t know if you noticed that. He is a handsome guy – because he knows how to get things done. We were asked to go there.”
Records show Highlands Board President Ernie Daniels also traveled to Pebble Beach for “golf” at the Governor’s Cup Tournament, that the school paid the organization $80,000.
“You have to go there to get the word out! It’s not just a bunch of throwaways,” said Smith.
In two years, from November 2021 to November 2023, Highland Community Charter and Technical School expenses show the school has spent over $3,038,212.84 on travel-related expenses. This includes:
- $335,650.27 on employees per diem.
- $297,620.26 on airfare.
- $983,946.83 on hotels.
The records show funds were spent on hotels in destinations including Las Vegas, New York, Texas, Napa, Nashville and New Orleans.
Trips aren’t the only nice things Highlands paid for. The school bought new Google Pixel Fold phones for all 500-plus employees. This phone retails for more than a thousand dollars for public purchase.
“And we pay for all the services – the texting, the internet, the hot spot and voice,” said Smith. “You can’t even get that plan – you can’t buy that plan.”
Every student also gets a Google Pixel phone and service plan.
“I’m buying 19,000 of them,” said Smith.
In a video promoting the phones to give “on-demand education” to its students, Smith and his team said: “By exposing them (students) to cutting edge technology, we are strengthening their digital literacy to accelerate them in the digital world,” the video explains and instead of “purchasing cell phones, net books and hotspots, we now purchase only one device.”
Sources tell us the cell phones are a part of Highlands’ exorbitant spending, and free cell phones are a way to get and keep students for more attendance.
During the Around the World event, we asked one student how he likes Highlands, he replied, “Very good school. Learn English and get a free phone.”
This November 2023 flyer shows Highlands used the phones as an incentive to boost attendance: “Attend class every day from now until November 30, 2023. Sites with the highest attendance will receive the GOOGLE PIXEL FOLD phones first. See you in class!”
In a Highlands December newsletter, a picture of students receiving phones was included with the caption, “A few of our first students to receive their Google Pixel Fold phones due to their exceptional attendance [sic]!”
Then there’s the bonuses.
At this publicly funded school, all employees received a bonus of $20,000 in 2023. That’s over $10,000,000 in bonuses for their 500-plus employees.
“People were mad at me for giving the same amount of bonus to the janitor that I did to a teacher. I don’t know why,” said Smith. “Our whole culture is we’re in this together, we’re the wall protecting our students. Giving them what they need.”
Highlands has paid big bonuses for multiple years. It’s something the current Highlands teacher feels conflicted about.
“Do I need that money? Yes. Does it feel good? No,” the teacher explained. “It feels gross to me to accept that money when our school districts are struggling so much.”
We pointed out to Smith the bonuses he gives his employees are extravagant compared to other public schools. His response: it’s prudent and shrewd.
Between salaries and bonuses at Highlands, the pay for these public-school jobs is incredible.
“We call it the ‘Golden Handcuffs’ at Highlands because the benefits are amazing, the pay is amazing. Most of all the work is incredible, you get to work with these people that are your heroes every day coming back for their high school diploma to learn English,” said Lindsay Curtis, Highlands’ Homeless Services Coordinator. “So, a lot of people they turn a blind eye when you hear and see certain things.”
ABC10 found the 200-plus Highlands teachers’ pay and benefits averages to over $107,000. With the 2023 bonus, that’s $127,000.
For comparison, Twin Rivers Unified School District lists their top paid teachers for adult education as making an average salary of $88,599 - with a bachelor's, master's and 20-years of experience. Entry level adult education teachers, Twin Rivers pays around $50,000.
“Highlands pays everyone good money,” said former Highlands teacher, Ali Diaz.
The highest paid employees are those at the top.
Records show the 15 principals average a salary, including benefits, of over $160,700. Yet, none have an administrative credential. It’s not required at charter schools, but this credential and a master’s degree are required for principals at non-charter, public schools.
Working with our sources and the school’s organizational chart, we made a list of the school’s top leaders. In pay and benefits, those 18 people make an average of $223,800.
Only 10 of those 18 leaders have at least a bachelor’s degree, records show. ABC10 filed for and obtained their resumes. We found only three have leadership experience at an accredited education institution outside of Highlands.
We asked Smith. “Are you familiar with the term non sequitur?” Smith said. “It means irrelevant.”
Critics say charter schools lax laws allow Smith to hire and promote people who serve his best interest, rather than the school’s.
“Several conservations in meetings, they prefer to hire people without degrees, people who are not in education,” said a former Highlands administrator.
To protect this administrator’s identity due to fear of retaliation, we've kept this person anonymous.
“That was done purposefully,” the administrator said. “So they would follow the ‘Highlands way.’”
Charters offer more flexibility, creativity, a “different approach to public education,” the California Charter School Association said.
“They admitted charter schools to do things that were creative, out of the norm,” Smith echoed.
Without charter’s more flexible hiring model, Smith said he wouldn’t have a diverse leadership team.
“Two-percent of just teachers in the state of California are African American males. Not much more are African American females. You want to get to administrative positions? It’s a lot worse,” Smith said.
“If 80%, 70% of the women teaching – and they’re kicking butt… my sister was one of them – but you’re looking for more diversity, and you can’t solve the problem because… There’s no way to get diversity they need because there’s no people in the pipeline to do it,” Smith said. “I guarantee those four women that are African American, they’re monsters, but they wouldn’t be in principals in a public school system.”
In summary, Smith said “they don’t have their credentials but they’re working on it now. But they can do the job.”
Between salary and benefits, Smith himself makes $348,520.55, records show.
He has no teaching credentials. No administrative credentials. He spent his career, not in education, but as a parole officer.
Smith retired after 29 years at the California Department of Corrections.
Even so, he got the job running Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools – making him one of the top paid public-school administrators in the region.
“This former police officer, with no education or training, gets to make almost as much and control perhaps larger budgets… troubling,” the teacher said. “It’s very troubling to me.”
We asked Smith what qualifications he has to be Highlands executive director.
“I don’t know! I took this job after I retired because I was on the (Highlands) board, as a part-time position, because we were bankrupt,” said Smith. “Now we’re one of the most successful schools in the country… I love this school. I love who we serve. I think that qualifies me.”
Multiple sources also told ABC10 that Highlands has employees with titles like “Special Project Coordinator” and “Consultant.” The reason they’re hired, sources said, is because of their connections in the community.
“They wanted to make connections in the community,” the administrator said. “In this way, people were hired on as consultants regularly. A lot of that was buried. You didn’t see it – but it was buried down in the books. That was very much (because) they wanted to stay politically connected.”
“We have a lot of people on staff who we’ve never met,” said Curtis. “We don’t know what they do.”
But Smith said Highlands has “no consultants.”
“We just don’t have anybody on contract like that,” Smith said.
ABC10 found that’s not true. In Highlands Community Charter School’s contract with vendors, between July and November 2023 they paid $415,910.58 to seven different agencies specifically for consulting services.
We asked Smith if he hires people that are buried in the books simply because they’re influential. He answered saying, “The word ‘education’ is a huge word” and that “sometimes people think, ‘Okay, they’re not a teacher, everything else other than that is non-contributory to education.’”
Smith said he hired “Community Advocates.”
One comes from the National Basketball Association (NBA) – former Kings player Harold Pressley.
“Doesn’t come to school with us every day, but he’s unbelievably impactful with our alumni services, going to meetings with us,” said Smith. “He’s hired because he has a name, an ex-King, that's worth its weight in gold to us!”
As of November 2023, records show Highlands paid Pressley $99,482.05 annually in pay and benefits as a special project coordinator. The school also sponsors a new sports show he hosts called “Highlands Sports Roundtable.”
Former Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn is also on the payroll as a special project coordinator. November 2023 records show Hahn receives $192,674.44 in pay and benefits.
California Black Chamber of Commerce CEO Jay King is also a Highlands special project coordinator making $137,974 in pay and benefits. Records show Highlands also paid the California Black Chamber Foundation $30,000 for “sponsorship” between July and November 2023.
Records show Highlands also sponsors passion-projects of its leadership team. In three years, the school paid $140,000 to the youth-basketball association “Play Hard Play Smart,” records show. The association was founded by Highlands’ assistant deputy director which – as a school for adults – Highlands students aren’t qualified to participate in.
Some staff ABC10 spoke with see these employees as an example of misplaced priorities, saying Highlands has money to pay for big names and non-academic projects, but not to buy basic school items like textbooks.
“We were told we couldn’t order that many (textbooks) because administration was still not totally sold – on books! For students!” said the current Highlands teacher. “We don’t prioritize education.”
“I helped my students, honestly, out of my own pocket,” said Curtis.
As Highlands’ Homeless Services Coordinator, Curtis had a lot of responsibility but says she never had a budget and had to find money for her program through donations and grants.
Yet ABC10 found Highlands reported budgeting $1,084,214 for homeless services in their 2021-2022 LCAP budget, provided to the state of California.
We showed Curtis.
“I don’t understand it. It (the LCAP budget) says for ‘providing basic needs’ and yet I had to get grant funding for the food, for the clothing and it was all on donations… like where was the rest of this money? And what could that have been used for?” Curtis said. “If there were over a million dollars in which to do things… a lot more students could’ve been helped.”
ABC10 spent hours touring Highlands as well as with a one-on-one interview with Smith. We brought questions and concerns directly from his staff to him. Our final question was why taxpayers should trust Smith and Highlands are providing the services and education he says they are?
“I think any taxpayer, or non-taxpayer, you come to our campus and then you come and look at me and say, ‘What a waste.’ I’ll shut it down right now,” said Smith.
Highlands also has a sort-of booster organization. A nonprofit created in 2020 called, “The Doc Smith Legacy Foundation.”
Highlands employees were asked to donate during official staff meetings. It’s on recordings provided to ABC10.
“Get this staff, if every employee donated $40 a month to the foundation,” a member of Highlands leadership said. “The backbone is really how our staff supports this foundation.”
The former Highlands administrator said they gave $100 a month to the foundation because they were trying to keep their job.
“It was very clear if you were signing that you weren’t contributing, you were going to hear about it,” said Diaz. “There was going to be a consequence.”
Smith said Highlands does not pressure employees to donate, they ask.
“65-70% don’t donate to it,” said Smith.
The Doc Smith Legacy Foundation has hosted several golf tournaments, a “Monte Carlo” Poker event, a “Taste of Highlands” event which included well-known special guest David Garibaldi, wine and beer and food vendors and chefs like Chef Bill Ngo of Kru, Chef Brad Cecchi of Canon and several others.
Smith said the foundation is a “commitment to education.” While Highlands is a public school and therefore has no tuition, the foundation pays for students who are not qualified to attend, Smith said – being those who are under 22 or do have a high school diploma.
“We gave $200,000 in scholarships last year,” Smith said.
Highlands leadership has said 100% of the Doc Smith Legacy Foundation’s proceeds go back to students, but a recording of a staff meeting reveals the foundation also helped pay for events during that San Diego professional development trip.
“We’re going to plan some really cool stuff, like a black tie dance. The foundation is going to provide some really great stuff for you,” Smith said in the meeting.
“The foundation being the Doc Smith Legacy Foundation that employees are asked to donate to out of their paychecks every month – that we are told 100% goes back to students,” said the teacher.
That means staff donations paid for part of their own, required work trip – leading to sources we spoke with asking where the foundation’s money is really going?
That’s why many ABC10 spoke with believe the Doc Smith Legacy Foundation is just another way to raise money off students. Money that ends up in Doc Smith’s orbit.