NC charter school will close after reporting 'financial irregularities' to police

State officials preliminarily OK'd the closure in May. The western North Carolina school is the fourth charter school in a year to close after alleged misuse of funds.

Posted 9:20 p.m. May 26, 2022 — Updated 4:58 p.m. Jun 2, 2022

Emily Walkenhorst

, WRAL education reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the longest-operating North Carolina charter schools will close, after officials there found financial irregularities that they've since reported to law enforcement.

The North Carolina State Board of Education approved the closure without opposition Thursday. The Learning Center, in Murphy in Cherokee County, had requested to voluntarily relinquish its charter.

State board members learned during closed session this week that school officials believed a new school director, who was not named, had misused public funds received by the school toward their own "private enterprise," Board Member Amy White said before the vote.

"The state board would have swiftly pursued closure of the school" if the school had not voluntarily given up its license, White said.

Last week, the state Charter School Advisory Board approved The Learning Center’s request to end its operations. The advisory board approved the request after a brief closed session and did not discuss the matter in open session before voting without opposition to close the school.

The school will close June 30.

The Learning Center serves about 200 K-9 students in Murphy, in Cherokee County. It has operated since 1997, the first year charter schools could open in North Carolina.

On May 20, the school’s board issued a statement saying they had found “significant irregularities within the school’s financial operations.”

The board voted to cease operations and requested to relinquish its charter that same day.

“While it has been a tremendous honor to serve our community, due to insurmountable financial challenges, the board saw not other path forward,”Board Chairwoman Denise Richards wrote in a letter to the state.

On May 23, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners formally requested a criminal investigation into the school. County Attorney Darryl R. Brown wrote the letter requesting the investigation to the Murphy Police Department. In it, Brown noted that only the school’s board was investigating the matter, which involved state and local funds. It was not clear Thursday whether anyone had decided to investigate the school's finances.

The school is the only charter school in Cherokee County and receives about $2,000 per pupil in local funds, about $9,000 per pupil in state funds, and about $1,000 per pupil in federal funds, according to state Department of Public Instruction records.

The Learning Center’s board did not explain what the irregularities were.

The board has had several emergency meetings in recent months, according to social media posts, in which conversations were limited to closed session.

About 50 charter schools have relinquished their charters in the 25 years charter schools have existed in North Carolina. State officials have revoked another 18 charters, and chosen not to renew another dozen charters.

Financial irregularities have contributed to the closure of three other charter schools in the past year.

Bridges Academy in Wilkes County voluntarily closed before the school year began after state officials launched an investigation into the school’s finances, later finding the school over-reported enrollment to receive more state funding.

State officials forced the closure of two other schools — Three Rivers Academy in Bertie County and Torchlight Academy in Raleigh — earlier this spring. Both of those schools were operated by the same charter management organization, Torchlight Academy Schools LLC, which has also sought to help open several more charter schools. Those schools also struggled with federal special education law compliance.

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