Though the issues surrounding its closure are complicated, the simple fact is this: Kinston Charter Academy is no more.
KCA board members addressed the media outside the main door of the school at noon Friday.
Demyra McDonald Hall, chairperson for the board of directors, said members of the board have learned lessons from running the school and encouraged parents to be active in the education of their children.
One of the board members, Linda McKnight, fought back tears as she spoke about the students affected by the closing of KCA.
“I extend a heartfelt good luck to the children,” McKnight said.
Principal Ozie Hall said the closure of the school had nothing to do with underperforming students, but was solely because of financial reasons.
On Aug. 2, a letter received from the Office of Charter Schools indicated that the school was on financial warning status, Hall said. He said the board thought it had more time to act.
It was on Aug. 21 that the school received a letter dated five days earlier that the school was up for revocation of their charter, Hall said. By that time, parents had already bought uniforms and teachers had been trained. The decision was made to go ahead with the start of school.
Hall said the school’s problems with paying retirement and health insurance premiums, which dated back to November, had been addressed and full payment was made as of Aug. 29.
The school attempted to refinance the building and draw on about $1 million in equity in order to upgrade facilities and have money going forward to operate the school, Hall said.
The board was in the middle of negotiating refinancing and trying to bring in a management company to help the school, Hall said. But when negative publicity about KCA began to surface, the management company and proposed lender backed out of any deal, he said
With the school being short on money, Hall said the board made the decision to give up their charter so the students could get settled into new environments sooner rather than later.
“In total there are 189 students and 59 staff members that have been affected by the school’s closure,” Hall said. “There is a transition team in place to help teachers and students make a smooth transition to other schools.”
Seventeen of those students, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, have enrolled at Northeast Elementary School, said NES Principal Kecia Dunn.
“We welcome them with open arms,” Dunn said.
The process has been going smoothly, but the school has needed to make adjustments, Dunn said. The buses for Northeast Elementary School were already at capacity, but a temporary solution has been found. The new students will ride on the bus with the least amount of students until another bus can be added.
Asha Jones, who had four kids enrolled at KCA, said she was told about the school’s closing by one of the kindergarten teachers. She said she had heard rumblings about the school’s problems.
“I thought things were going to blow over,” Jones said.
Jones said two of her six children are now in high school after graduating from KCA. One of her children will now be attending Rochelle Middle School and the other three will attend Northeast Elementary School.
“Everything is alright now,” Jones said. “The schools greeted and welcomed my children.”
KCA will be open next week for parents who need help with the transition process.
Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @ nclark763.