Latest news with #SPCSA
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State scrutinizes 2 Las Vegas charter schools over their finances
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The state agency that oversees charter schools is narrowing in on the finances of several valley schools, claiming they have too much debt to stay open. Sage Collegiate Public Charter School and Nevada Prep Academy Charter School were brought before the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA) on Friday to discuss their budgets. 'We've taken steps to address obstacles like chronic absenteeism and student achievement, and we've taken steps to tackle the financial challenges as well,' Sage Collegiate Principal Sandra Kinne told members of the SPCSA. Charter school enrollment in Nevada has increased so much that the schools collectively are the second-largest district in the state. Last year, the agency closed Eagle Charter School after it failed to pay back more than $800,000 in taxpayer money. That was the first time in the agency's history it has closed a school. State moves to seize assets of Las Vegas charter school, claims it failed to pay back over $800K in taxpayer money Sage Collegiate opened three years ago on Charleston Boulevard near Valley View Boulevard. 'Families deserve options for their children in a public setting,' Kinne told 8 News Now on Jan. 19, 2023. But the State Public Charter School Authority said Sage Collegiate has taken on too much debt. 'We use the audit financials because this is a very high-stakes decision and so we use an objective third-party that has reviewed what has happened in the past, rather than sort of hopes for the future,' Katie Broughton, SPCSA's director of authorizing, said. The agency sought on Friday to give Sage Collegiate a Notice of Breach, which is the step before issuing a Notice of Intent to Revoke. Kinne said 25% of its pupil-centered funding goes to rent. 'A Notice of Breach prohibits us tackling the biggest challenge, which is our rent,' Kinne said. She argued that a Notice of Breach would prevent Sage Collegiate from taking out loans. But according to the State Public Charter School Authority, Sage's current financial position is strained, heavily leveraged and reliant on multiple loans. The agency also accused Sage of not paying its teacher retirement contributions to the state. 'I can't sit here and personally say you're in a better financial position if you're not able to pay your teachers their full compensation package that they are owed,' Melissa Mackedon, the executive director of SPCSA, said. The agency voted to give Sage Collegiate until May to respond on how it's tackling its financial issues. The state agency also scrutinized Nevada Prep Charter School. According to the agency, Nevada Prep has missed three lease payments and its 'debt is consuming approximately 30% of the state revenue' it receives. SPCSA gave the school until the agency's next meeting on May 30 to present more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State report shows Nevada charter schools outperform public schools in test scores
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A report from a state agency said the quality of charter schools is decreasing as the number of them increases. However, that won't dissuade Republican Governor Joe Lombardo. He's all in on school choice. 'Increasing the number of charter schools that are available within all the participating jurisdictions,' Lombardo told 8 News Now on Monday. A report from the State Public Charter School Authority that was submitted to the Nevada Department of Education included data on student performance. It showed that test scores for SBAC, also known as Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, were higher among charter students than their public-school peers. In the 2023-2024 school year, elementary and middle school students scored 13% higher in ELA and 12% higher in math compared to public school students, according to the SPCSA's report. 'Charter schools are accountable schools. If they don't do a good job, they close them. That's the difference with the school district. If they do a poor job, [lawmakers] give them more money,' Valeria Gurr, a school choice advocate, said. Gurr said charter schools outperform public schools and the data shows – she's right. High school charters graduated 2% more students than public schools in the 2023-2024 year, according to the SPCSA report. 'It's not one versus the other. It's about how we all co-exist in the system. So we that can serve kids the best – is possible for them,' Gurr said. The report from the State Public Charter School Authority highlighted some problems with charter schools. It showed that pre-COVID, 2% of charters were 1-star schools, but in the 2023-2024 academic year that number climbed to 15%. The increase in 1-star schools comes as charters grow in Nevada. 8 News Now previously reported on the state closing Eagle Charter School for failing to pay back more than $800,000 in taxpayer funds. Eagle was open for less than a year. In an interview with our 8 News Now Investigators, Gov. Lombardo reiterated his support for school choice. 'School choice is all-encompassing. It's charter schools, it's different education opportunities. It's open zoning, the ability to receive transportation to go to a different school versus a traditional place where you reside,' Lombardo said. In the 2024-2025 school year, more students were enrolled in Nevada charter schools than in the Washoe County School District, making charters the second largest school system behind the Clark County School District. Five new charter schools are scheduled to open this fall for students, four of them are in Clark County. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Charter School Authority absorbs 6 CCSD-run charter schools
Students at FuturEdge Charter Academy, formerly 100 Academy of Excellence. (Photo courtesy of Clark County School District) The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority on Friday assumed oversight of six charter schools previously sponsored by Clark County School District. With the transfer of the six schools and their combined 5,550 students, SPCSA essentially becomes the second largest school district in Nevada, overtaking Washoe County School District. Fewer than 650 students separated the two late last year when the state conducted official enrollment counts. SPCSA schools now enroll around 69,000 students. The rate of enrollment growth in SPCSA schools has significantly outpaced both WCSD and CCSD for years. The transfer marks CCSD's complete exit from charter school operation. CCSD, which is still by far the largest school district in the state, stopped considering applications to sponsor new charter schools in 2007. In May 2024, the district publicly announced it planned to stop sponsoring its existing six charter schools and transfer oversight to the Charter School Authority. Clark County School District transferred six charter schools to the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority: Delta Academy, Explore Knowledge Academy Innovations International Charter School of Nevada FuturEdge (formerly 100 Academy of Excellence) Rainbow Dreams Academy Odyssey Charter Schools Those transfers were approved by the Charter School Board on Friday. The votes were unanimous, minus abstentions for possible conflicts, but some board members expressed concerns about the Authority taking on low-performing schools. 'CCSD didn't want to see these schools shut down,' said Charter School Authority Executive Director Melissa Mackedon, noting that all of the schools have been around for at least 15 years. Mackedon said discussions about a possible transfer happened 'at least four or five years' ago–well before she was appointed to lead the authority–but her understanding was that the SPCSA agreed to take the schools and give them a limited contract. Only one of the six charter schools, Odyssey Charter School, was approved for a six-year SPCSA contract. Odyssey has received three, four or five (out of five possible) stars on the Nevada Department of Education's Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF) in recent years. Ratings of three and above are generally considered acceptable. Four of the charter schools were approved for three-year contracts because of recent 1- or 2-star NSPF ratings. 'They've been given a window of three years to improve or not renew,' Mackedon said. The sixth charter school, which is not subject to star ratings, was also approved for a three-year contract because of concerns abouts its unique financial and enrollment setup. Mackedon told board members that the transfer from CCSD to the SPCSA will not impact whether the charter schools become subject to existing mandatory closure laws for low-performing charter schools. 'Their history comes with them. This isn't a 'you get to start all the way over' situation,' she added. FuturEdge Charter Academy, formerly known as 100 Academy of Excellence, and Innovations International Charter School, have both received 1-, 2- or 3-star NSPF ratings in recent years. Explore Knowledge Academy, which serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade, had a history of 3-, 4- and 5-star reviews but most recently received a 2-star rating for its elementary school. It also received a poor rating for its financial management. Abbe Mattson, the superintendent at Explore Knowledge, told the board the school saw enrollment drop two years ago, which caused financial problems. 'We're in recovery mode,' she said. 'We don't anticipate problems moving forward.' Delta Academy, a middle and high school with in-person, online and hybrid classes, had a history of 1- and 2-star ranking and in 2020 was approved by CCSD and the state department of education to be rated using an alternative performance framework. For the past three years, Delta was found to be improving or maintaining its performance on that alternative framework. Charter School Authority staff noted that the framework will need to be reviewed with the transfer. The Authority prior to last week had only one school, Beacon Academy, approved for review under an alternative performance framework. Enrollment at Beacon is limited to severely credit deficient and other at-risk students. The Charter School Authority will also have to come up with performance review criteria for Rainbow Dreams Academy, which operates preschool and kindergarten programs. Because it does not offer all elementary school grades, it is not subject to the NSPF ratings. The preschool program is funded by Clark County through a contract approved by the county commission, not the pupil centered funding formula the state uses to fund K-12. A Rainbow Dreams administrator acknowledged that the preschool funding, which will be subject to renewal by the Clark County Commission, is required to make their school financially viable. Mackedon said that, if the commission were to not renew the contract, the authority would work with Rainbow Dream to assess their options. Charter School Board member Patricia Haddad Bennett, who previously worked in government relations for CCSD, noted that Rainbow Dreams used to offer grades K-5 but transitioned to offering only preschool and kindergarten because of poor academic performance. 'The accountability is real… Our job is really important,' she said. 'While happy to move forward with the transfer of sponsorship, we should just be mindful. If there are changes to their program, looking at that history and that track record, I would hesitate to increase grades in order to make the budget add up.' Administrators with the six charter schools are expected to appear before the Charter School Board in the upcoming months to provide members with additional information about their schools, according to Mackedon.
