A San Diego charter school may shut down its high school by the end of this school year

Leaders of America's Finest Charter School in San Diego may shut down their own high school by June because of under-enrollment — and the school's staff and families just learned about it last week.

The sudden news of the potential closure, which was leaked to the school community, blindsided staff and families and has fueled frustration and distrust toward their charter's leadership.

The board will meet on Monday at 4:30 p.m. at 4481 Estrella Ave. to vote on whether to keep the high school open.

The charter's leadership was planning last Friday, April 19, to convene a special board meeting the following Monday, April 22, to vote on closing the high school. The school community said they were given no prior warning that the school might be shuttered this year.

But after information about the special meeting got out to the public, leaders backtracked and did not hold a special meeting that day.

Many members of the school community have blamed executive director Timothy Bagby, the main person in charge of the charter's finances, saying he hid financial details from high school administrators, staff and families and failed to work with others on budget solutions.

Bagby did not answer a list of questions emailed by The San Diego Union-Tribune and in his reply deferred to next week's board meeting.

When asked by community members at a town hall meeting Wednesday whether the high school would remain open next school year, Bagby said: "I can't say that."

Still, Bagby said closing the high school would be an "absolute last-ditch effort" and leadership would take time to consider every potential alternative.

"The last thing that we absolutely want to do is to rush to make a decision," he said.

Parents now worry about how they will find a new high school this late in the enrollment season, should their school close. The high school serves 100 students in the Talmadge neighborhood.

Several students and parents said they feel safe at this high school and can't imagine going somewhere else.

Ella Jensen said Wednesday her son first came to America’s Finest from a traditional district school two years behind grade level; then the school caught him up in one year. Now an 11th-grader, he no longer needs a special education plan.

“My son’s going to suffer,” she said.

Amid criticism from community members, America's Finest board president and nine-year board member Gary Rubin turned in his resignation on Monday.

He resigned both from his board position and his part-time job as a reading intervention specialist at the school. He had sat on the board and been employed by the school simultaneously for years.

"I'm out of it. I have zero input and zero responsibility," he said Thursday in an interview. "I felt, in the best interest of the school, I should not be involved in any more decision-making."

America’s Finest Charter would need 100 more students between its high school and TK-8 school to be financially sound, Bagby told families and staff at the town hall.

Only the high school is being considered for closure. It is about a quarter the size of the TK-8 school, which has a separate campus in Chollas View.

America's Finest officials said they have known for a while that they are behind on enrollment, but the budget situation became more dire after San Diego Unified, their authorizer, told them recently that it was “very concerned” about the school’s finances, Bagby told parents and staff on Wednesday.

But it’s unclear how dire the school’s financial situation is. At Wednesday's meeting, Bagby said he would not elaborate on the school’s finances, and school leaders have not said publicly how large the projected deficit is. San Diego Unified has not issued any warning letters or recommendations to the school.

Families criticized school leaders' communication. They had been told that school leaders knew about the under-enrollment problem for years — so they questioned why the school was suddenly just now telling them how serious its budget issue is.

“There’s obviously a lack of transparency,” said Renee Arintoc, a parent and member of the school site council. “You have not involved the school to help you guys out.”

It's also unclear exactly when leaders began discussing the potential closure. Just one week before the special meeting was to be held, the school board at a regular meeting approved staff raises.

Community members suggested Wednesday potential budget solutions the school could try before resorting to closure, some of which staff said they have already been working on.

Those include tapping into potential feeder elementary charter schools nearby, applying for grants, spreading the word at community fairs and rec centers and improving the school's website.

The school could also sell its high school building and use district buildings at a cheaper cost, since state law requires districts to make facilities available to charter schools.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .