A charter school in eastern Las Vegas faces an uncertain future, as a regulatory review has shown that the school owes more than $800,000 to the state of Nevada.
The Eagle Charter School is located near the intersection of Eastern Avenue’s and Sahara Avenue. It wrapped its first full school year on the 17th of May, but the state watchdog which polices charter schools has leveled accusations that the school has been misusing state funds.
A member of the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA), Tamika Shauntee Rosales, worried aloud at a May 17 public meeting that even minor or isolated money management errors will throw the entire charter school program into disrepute—and this mistake was not a minor one.
Eagle Charter School stands accused by The State Public Charter School of defrauding the Nevada Department of Education out of $837,000 through the use of inflated and incorrect budget reports.
SPCSA member Kurt Thigpen, at the same meeting, wanted to know whether the school’s board authorized its employees to use the excess funds provided by the Nevada Department of Education, or if the staff took it upon themselves to spend the funds without approval.
Tyrone Johnson, a member of the Eagle Charter School’s board, attempted to explain the problem as simple mismanagement. Administrators, he said, did not go rogue, they merely failed to institute strong enough controls on spending and money management. The school’s board strongly acknowledged that it made serious mistakes, which represents a change of position from a previous hearing in April, when Eagle’s board members denied knowledge or failed to respond to questioning by the regulatory body.
According to SPCSA, the Eagle Charter School was originally projected to enroll 306 students by August of 2024 and was allocated the $837,000 based on that projection. Enrollment, however, topped out at slightly under half the projected numbers.
The SPCSA has declared it will Eagle and its new enrollment numbers on June 3.
