Kinston Charter schools were discussed at Tuesday’s State Board of Education meeting, and Kinston Charter Academy was in the hot seat.
The school was brought before the board because of its three-year run of disciplinary issues coupled with notable financial struggles.
Administration is working tirelessly to keep the school open and said an impromptu rule change resulted in a few late payments.
The State Board of Education sent a letter to all charter school administrators dated Sept. 5, 2012 regarding disbursement of cash advanced effective July 1, 2012. The Division of School Business wrote it was modifying the third installment of funds to help the cash flow.
The school has previously been able to ask for advancements on those allotments, which became restricted until the end of February.
“(The rule change) left us in a situation where we were short on cash flow, so it caused us to be late on some payments,” said Ozie Hall Jr., Kinston Charter principal. “When we did get our next allotment, we paid it. It was all paid up when the meeting took place. (The Board of Education meeting) was simply a report to the state board that we had been late paying it.”
He said the school had upfront payments on facilities and operations, leaving staff to either borrow money or just be late.
While he said all payments are up-to-date, the school is still in a financial rut — a possible threat to keep the campus open.
“One of our biggest obstacles is funding,” said Hall, noting charter schools don’t get capital or lottery funds. “We have to struggle with what we have. Right now we are in the middle of a fundraising campaign in order to keep the school going, to keep the doors open and to provide a quality program.”
He said interested donors should contact the school.
Money problems are just one side to Kinston Charter’s turmoil. Although the school has met expected growth every year but one, students are still performing significantly lower than state average levels.
Last school year, the K-8 school’s overall reading level was 38.1 percent compared to the state’s 71.2 percent level. Kinston Charter’s math score was 36.4 percent compared to the state’s 82.8 percent.
“We have a very high-poverty student population, and we traditionally have scored below other student population,” Hall said. “We have been struggling to try to implement programs to meet the needs of this particular student population.”
Kinston Charter students are 98 percent African-American and last year, the free and reduced lunch population reached 97 percent.
Hall said the school has admitted many students who have suffered some type of abuse and who have disciplinary problems. The administration is working with the state on behavioral programs to meet the students’ needs.
In the classroom, the school recruited teachers nationwide who had multiple licenses in order to boost student performance. Last year, 67 percent of Kinston Charter teachers were fully licensed teachers compared to the state’s 92 percent.
“These students deserve a sound, basic education just like any other students,” Hall said. “We believe we’re making progress this year.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
BREAKOUT BOX:
To make a financial donation, contact
Ozie Hall Jr., principal/ CEO
Kinston Charter Academy
2000 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
252-520-3397