State board: Charter school won’t open this year

By Cy Ryan

Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 | 4:20 p.m.

The state Board of Education has denied a waiver to a Las Vegas charter school for sixth-grade boys.

The board accepted the recommendation of its staff, which stated that the Willie H. Brooks Soar Academy, which had only 16 students, would be bankrupt by October.

Board President Chris Wallace said the school could fail and "that would be a disservice to our state." By refusing to grant a full-scale charter, the school does not qualify for any state support based on enrollment.

Wallace suggested the school wait another year.

Tami Bass, founder of the Soar Academy, told the board it has started a marketing campaign and it will be at a 15,000 person gathering this weekend at UNLV. Parents traditionally enroll their students at the end of August, she said.

Soar Academy, which would be the only boys charter school in Nevada according to Bass, was approved for a charter but was required to get its financing in order.

Bass said it can survive on a budget of 22 students. But Keith Rheault, state superintendent of public instruction said the state granted the school a five-week extension when it had only 12 students enrolled. In that added time, it was able to add only four more students.

Steve Canavero, director of the state Office of Charter Schools, told the board the school had predicted it would have 80 students but only got 15 percent of its target. He said the finances "would go negative" in October. "There is a potential for bankruptcy," he said, adding that the students would be disrupted.

He said it would take a lot more than 16 or 22 students for it to make it financially. Other states, he said have required 50 students before granting a full-scale charter school certificate.

Bass told the board the school envisions adding another grade each year. For instance it would be up to seventh grade next school year. She is leasing part of a cafeteria at a church in Las Vegas for the classes.

The charter of the Soar Academy extends to June 2013. The school must convince the state board it is financially capable to operate before it would receive any state money, based on the student count.