Maricopa Teacher Faces Near Homelessness After Edkey’s Sudden Contract Cancellations

Myles Thomas, a former contractor with Sequoia Pathway Academy, asserts that the charter school owes him thousands of dollars. Currently located in Thailand, Thomas spoke early in the morning with InMaricopa, insisting, “This needs to be told.”

Thomas, who relocated his family from Inglewood, California, to Maricopa for a role aimed at boosting student enrollment, has found himself in dire financial straits. He claims the charter school abruptly severed ties with him and other contractors, leaving them without earnings and leading to hardships, such as an employee’s car being repossessed.

Initially recruited by former Edkey CEO Mark Plitzuweit, Thomas was tasked with revitalizing the school’s enrollment and leading a college prep initiative. “The agreement was that Sequoia Pathway was doing bad when it came to enrollment,” stated Thomas, highlighting the urgent need for change. He reports successfully recruiting students from cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Under their contract, Edkey promised $29,000 monthly payments to Thomas for enrolling at least 60 students. However, this arrangement unraveled in November when Plitzuweit was dismissed, coinciding with the abrupt halt of Thomas’s payments.

In a statement, Edkey COO Dr. Yovhane Metcalfe explained that payments were suspended as part of a review of contracts, after they discovered some vendors lacked executed agreements. Metcalfe emphasized the organization’s responsibility to prioritize funds for classroom learning over private business subsidies.

Despite the freeze on payments, Thomas provided InMaricopa with unsigned copies of what he claims is a valid seven-page contract, which he asserts corroborates his assertions. He also mentioned that while the contract was digitally signed by Plitzuweit, a countersigned copy was never sent to him.

Prior compensation records show that payments were made according to the agreed terms before the fallout. Thomas lamented, “December, January, February, we haven’t gotten paid. This was supposed to go through May.” He alleges that the disruption has affected multiple contractors, totaling over $100,000 in unpaid fees.

During a Facetime meeting with Metcalfe, Thomas claims the contract was acknowledged by Edkey’s leadership, yet they later claimed to have no signed documentation. “They’re telling you they’re fixing [Edkey] but they’re not,” he asserted, framing the situation as a significant breach of trust.