KENOSHA, Wis. — A failing taxpayer-funded public charter school whose latest audit shows it lost nearly $380,000 in one year and ended the year nearly $250,000 in the red has recorded more than $132,000 in bills from a local marketing firm since June 2024, according to financial records obtained by Kenosha County Eye. The school’s independent auditors have repeatedly identified what they call a “significant deficiency” in KTEC’s financial reporting controls.

The firm is Dooley & Associates, owned by Jenifer Dooley-Hogan. The relationship isn’t new. When Angela Andersson was principal of KTEC while it still operated under the Kenosha Unified School District, KUSD records showed $6,750 paid to Dooley & Associates in 2021 for “Marketing, Branding & Capital.” KCE questioned the spending at the time, including why a school with a waiting list needed thousands of dollars in marketing. KCE’s 2021 coverage

Five years later, the relationship has grown substantially. Financial records reviewed by KCE show at least $132,509.17 in Dooley bills from June 2024 through August 2026. Combined with the earlier $6,750, KCE has documented at least $139,259.17 in financial activity involving Dooley during the periods for which records are available. KCE is not representing that every dollar of that amount has necessarily been paid because the newest invoices in the records did not have corresponding payment confirmations.

$132,000 And They Couldn’t Take A Real Photo?

The spending caught KCE’s attention again after a reader sent us a KTEC advertisement that appears to use an AI-generated image of young children. One child in the advertisement appears to have bizarrely generated hands, including what look like extra and missing fingers.

The reader raised an obvious question: If KTEC is spending this much taxpayer money with a marketing company, couldn’t someone simply walk into a classroom with a camera and take a photograph of actual students?

It’s a fair question.

Dooley’s invoices show the company wasn’t receiving a few hundred dollars to occasionally make a Facebook post. Its work for the public charter school has included social media, enrollment advertising, website development, photography, video production, public relations, branding, signage, newsletters and event promotion. Some individual invoices exceeded $10,000, and Dooley’s hourly rate increased from $130 in 2024 to as much as $145 in 2026.

With taxpayers funding a six-figure marketing relationship, using a fake image of children with apparently mangled AI-generated fingers instead of photographing real students looks, in KCE’s view, like cutting corners.

Auditors Find “Significant Deficiency”

The marketing spending comes amid a troubling financial picture at the taxpayer-funded public charter school.

KTEC’s FY2025 audit shows about $1.65 million in revenue against more than $2.02 million in expenses. The school lost $379,195 during the year and ended June 30, 2025, with a $249,602 net deficit.

Auditors also repeatedly identified a “significant deficiency” in KTEC’s internal controls over financial reporting. They said management lacked the necessary training to prepare financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, resulting in the outside auditors preparing the financial statements for management’s review and approval.

This isn’t a new problem. The finding dates back at least to 2023 and remained unresolved in subsequent audits. KTEC’s own corrective-action plan acknowledged that the problem “will not completely resolve” because of the school’s limited financial staff and resources.

KTEC has faced financial controversy before. In January 2025, KUSD announced it was ending its charter relationship with the original KTEC following a financial review involving the commingling of funds between the KUSD KTEC 4K-8 program and the independent KTEC High School. KTEC disputed KUSD’s characterization of its financial management. KCE’s January 2025 report on KTEC’s financial controversy

The independent high school had been controversial from its earliest days. In 2022, KUSD publicly emphasized that KTEC High School was a separate public charter school and was not operated or authorized by KUSD. KCE’s 2022 report on KTEC High School

Controversies Continue Under Andersson

Financial questions aren’t the only controversy surrounding KTEC under Andersson’s leadership.

Earlier this year, KCE reported that KTEC employed first-grade teacher Jennifer Bonnes after she previously left Racine Unified under a negotiated separation agreement following an administrative investigation. Andersson defended the hiring when questioned by KCE. Bonnes later publicly disputed several allegations contained in the Racine Unified records. KCE’s January 2026 report on the teacher controversy

Now KCE is again asking questions about Andersson’s stewardship of the public charter school, this time involving a marketing relationship that stretches back to her years running KTEC under KUSD.

KCE asked Dooley how much taxpayer money her company has received from KTEC and about the AI-generated advertising. KCE also asked Andersson whether the public charter school is satisfied with Dooley & Associates, the quality of its work and the amount of taxpayer money being spent with the company.

KCE also sought information about the longstanding relationship between Andersson and Dooley. The records establish a longstanding professional vendor relationship involving substantial taxpayer dollars, but KCE has found no evidence establishing a relationship between the two beyond that business relationship.

Neither Andersson nor Dooley responded.

For a failing taxpayer-funded public charter school whose auditors have repeatedly identified a “significant deficiency” in financial reporting and which says it lacks the resources to completely resolve that deficiency, more than $132,000 in bills from one local marketing company deserves scrutiny.

And after spending that kind of taxpayer money, the public might reasonably expect KTEC’s advertisements to feature real students, or at the very least, children with the correct number of fingers.