ST. LOUIS 鈥 A performing arts charter school has saved itself from millions of dollars of debt by simply rewriting its charter.
Last year, school leaders worried that Grand Center Arts Academy was headed for financial collapse. The school owed more than $7 million to Confluence Academy, its sister charter school agency. Grand Center Arts had borrowed that money to fund an expensive building renovation and keep its doors open, among other things.
The school has survived on a less than 4 percent fund balance, or financial reserve; the state considers a 3 percent fund balance to be a 鈥渇inancially stressed school.鈥 Officials had said there was no way Grand Center Arts could pay those loans back to Confluence.
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So administrators say Grand Center Arts has saved itself by merging with Confluence Academy, a move that will erase Grand Center Arts鈥 debt to Confluence.
The change officially happened Sunday. All it really took was a rewrite of Grand Center Arts鈥 charter, its founding document.
The two school agencies already share the same board and administration, so virtually nothing will change about the schools themselves, Confluence CEO Candice Carter-Oliver said. No staff will be cut, and students will see no changes in the classroom, she said.
鈥淚t鈥檒l better position all the schools financially,鈥 Carter-Oliver said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just good financial stewardship.鈥
The combined Confluence Academy has become the only charter school agency in 50度灰视频 to have two high schools, which are considered to be expensive to maintain.
The move may also slightly boost Confluence Academy鈥檚 overall state performance score by adding a more diverse, higher-performing, specialized school to Confluence鈥檚 portfolio. Confluence has long struggled with low performance.
To make the move happen, 50度灰视频 University gave up its sponsorship of Grand Center Arts Academy. Every charter school has a sponsor that is supposed to hold the school accountable. SLU now sponsors just one charter school 鈥 City Garden Montessori.
鈥淭o have two sponsors overseeing what is essentially one organization can be problematic,鈥 Steven Sanchez, director of charter school sponsorship for SLU, said in an email. 鈥淎 single sponsor overseeing all Confluence Academy schools 鈥 including (Grand Center Arts) 鈥 can approach its work more holistically and systemically.鈥
Charter schools are independently run, publicly funded schools that exist only in 50度灰视频 city and Kansas City in Missouri.