A Christian school in Glendale expelled the children of a parent who persistently asked questions about how the private school was spending its tuition money.

Lise Hopson had been asking Joy Christian School in Glendale why she paid tuition when a public charter school, Sequoia Choice, was providing the bulk of the private school's academic courses. Charter schools, like all publicly funded schools, are free.

Hopson told The Arizona Republic in September that she never received a satisfactory answer from Joy Christian School or its affiliated church, the Community Church of Joy.

The Republic published an article about the relationship between Joy Christian School and Sequoia Choice on Oct. 2. Before the article was published, state education officials sent copies of parent complaints and state records about the two schools to the state Attorney General's Office for review.

In an e-mail response to The Republic about the children's expulsion, Joy Christian School Principal Mark Kalohe Kempf said he could not discuss the enrollment of specific children. Kempf said he gave Hopson a letter that "explained why we felt it was necessary to take the actions we did."

The day before Hopson was quoted in the Republic article, Hopson picked up her daughters as usual after school. The principal handed a letter to Hopson that stated both Hopson and her husband, James, were not "contributing to the harmonious attitude of the school."

In the letter, Kempf called Hopson's actions disruptive and damaging and said they "may have caused financial losses to the school, as well."

Kempf "terminated" the Hopson children's education at Joy Christian School as of 5 p.m. that day and gave the Hopsons a formal notice that as of 5:30 p.m. that day, they were barred from school and church property. The notice allowed the family to visit the "reasonable radius" of the gravesite of Joanne Wright, the children's grandmother, and access to a building leased by the charter school, as long as the Hopsons did not exit their vehicle or talk to anyone on campus.

Hopson's father, Don Wright, said last week that he had his wife's remains removed from a niche on the Joy property.

Wright said a letter he wrote to the pastor also may have led to the children's dismissal. Wright questioned Joy Christian School's relationship with a public charter school. In the letter, Wright said he "expected a refund" of $12,700 in tuition and threatened to take the issue to state officials.

An attorney for the church and school responded with a letter suggesting the church might file a lawsuit against Wright seeking punitive damages for "harmful and offensive actions."

Hopson's daughters, 12 and 9, have attended Joy Christian School since they were in preschool, said Hopson's sister, Lori Gumm. At the advice of a lawyer, Hopson declined to be quoted about the expulsion and said Gumm would speak for her.

"The girls are a mess," said Gumm. The Hopson children don't understand why they can't return to the school, Gumm said.

Sequoia Choice is providing the family with online courses until it finds another school, Gumm said.