Arizona Landscaping School Loses State License

The Fleur de Lis Institute has lost its state licenses to operate vocational and degree programs.

The decision was made today at a meeting of the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education.

The Tucson school may continue to operate if it appeals the board's decision and demands a hearing.

Board members said they didn't have the information they needed, including financial information and proof of the school's accreditation, and had granted a few extensions to the school in the past few months. Some financial information previously submitted to the board wasn't audited.

The school has been seeking accreditation but has not yet obtained it.

"I tried to work with them and I should have known better. We have been unable to get information from this school," one board member said in a conference call, during which members were not identified.

"Administratively, your response has been horrendous. You just don't respond," the board member said, addressing executive director Milton Corey.

The school's 38 students will be notified that its license renewal was denied, according to the state agency, which is responsible for protecting consumers.
Corey told the board he has an "enormous amount of personal money invested in this" and wants to see the school succeed.

Earlier this week, a former student, Roxanne Dobosz, said she dropped out of the institute because the quality didn't meet her expectations. Then, she said, she couldn't get her money back for classes she hadn't taken.

One of the school's original teachers, Greg Starr, also filed a complaint after a couple of his paychecks bounced.

"We got concerned that the school was going to just try to get money from the students and then close their doors," he said.

Corey said the school was not in financial trouble.

Rather, it has taken much longer than expected to develop the school, he said. It isn't yet accredited through a federally accepted organization, which would have allowed the school to seek federal grants.
Corey owns and operates the school with his wife, Marjorie Schaeffer, and said Fleur de Lis is financed from their own assets.

"This school is something we have invested virtually everything we have in, and we hope to make it into the success we believe it can be," he said earlier this week.

"The majority of our students have been very happy here," he added, noting that 90 percent earn an associate's degree and 95 percent of graduates are placed in jobs.

Amy Almquist, who attends the school and owns a business called Dragonfly Landscape Designs, said she has had a good experience at the school and would recommend it to others.

"I get to work with industry professionals," she said. "I'm not just learning theory; I'm having a lot of practical, hands-on experiences."

Early misgivings

Former student Dobosz, who runs her own landscaping business called Jumping Daisies LLC, said she paid $7,140 upfront to enter a fast-paced landscape design degree program at the school. She attended for 10 weeks but had misgivings right away, she said.

On her first day of class, her drafting instructor arrived an hour and a half late, she said. The teacher was replaced halfway through the course. Some classes weren't taught at the college level, and some weren't offered in accordance with the schedule, Dobosz said.

When she left the school in May, Dobosz said she was owed $4,200 within 30 days, but she still hasn't received the money. At one point, owner Corey told her that he had sent a check by certified mail, Dobosz said, but the tracking number didn't exist.

"The check is in the mail. I can't help if it hasn't been delivered," Schaeffer said Wednesday, adding that she would hand-deliver the money.

Dobosz filed an eight-page complaint with the state board that oversees private colleges. Her complaint will be heard in September, according to that agency.

Corey called the former student's complaint vindictive. Schaeffer said the student is disgruntled and unfairly critical.

If a college is found to have violated any rules, the state may decide to issue a fine or not to renew the school's license, said Keith Blanchard, deputy director of the State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. Without a license, a college can't offer a degree program.

Around 95 percent of complaint investigations don't turn up violations, Blanchard said.

According to the Arizona Corporation Commission, Fleur de Lis Institute Inc. is not in good standing as a corporation. The company has not turned in an annual report that was supposed to be filed in April.

Paychecks reportedly bounced

Teachers at the school said they weren't paid on time and that some checks they received bounced.

Steve Halper of Benson said he wasn't paid during 10 weeks of teaching.

After "numerous complaints on my part and numerous excuses on (Corey's) part," Halper received a personal check for partial payment, but it bounced, he said.

Halper said he received his money after threatening to file a complaint with the Pima County Attorney's Office's Bad Check Program. He sent an e-mail to everyone at the school explaining the problem with his check and announcing his resignation.

Schaeffer said all of the bounced checks were the result of a banking error.
"If somebody's check bounced, that doesn't mean this school's finances are in jeopardy," she said.
Greg Starr, owner of Starr Nursery, said he has stayed at the school despite the problems because "I like teaching, and I really thought I could turn it around."

He filed a complaint with the state board in early June after having problems with his paychecks.
Starr, who has owned his nursery since 1985 and taught at a now-defunct landscape technician program at Pima Community College, said he tried to help the owners set up a strong class schedule and curriculum, but it wasn't followed.

"I hope I made a difference with some of the students, and I'm sorry to see that these problems persist after four years," he said.

Schaeffer, who previously operated an interior design school at the site, said she had gone 15 years with no complaints until this summer.