2 closed charter schools owe the state $377K. Can NC recover the money?
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The state Department of Public Instruction is trying to recover $377,227 in overspent state funds from two charter schools that closed during the middle of last school year.
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DPI is trying to collect $264,438 from Monroe Charter Academy in Union County and $112,789 from Triad International Studies Academy (TISA) in Guilford County. Both schools were ordered to close mid-year by the N.C. Charter Schools Review Board due to violations of their charters.
State Board of Education chair Eric Davis asked at Wednesday’s meeting about how much progress DPI is making at recovering those funds. It might not be easy to get the money back.
“When charter schools close, one of the challenging items is that the board dissolves and so it is hard to find those assets and pursue those assets,” Alexis Schauss, DPI’s chief financial officer, told Davis. “But we have worked with our legal staff on those two outstanding amounts.”
Charter schools are taxpayer funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. The closure of Monroe and TISA left North Carolina with 211 charter schools at the end of last school year.
The Charter Schools Review Board voted in October to close TISA because it had less than the 80-student minimum required under state law for charter schools. The school closed less than two weeks later, even though it could have stayed open until Dec. 30.
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In a letter dated Oct. 14, DPI told TISA it had drawn $232,579 in state funds — which is $112,789 more than it was allowed to spend. TISA had been in operation for just two months.
The Review Board voted in December to close Monroe Charter Academy because it had been “operating illegally” on remote instruction after it lost use of its building, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
In a letter dated Dec. 12, DPI told Monroe Charter it had collected $713,868 in state funds. DPI said that was $264,438 more than it was allowed to spend.
DPI told both schools they’re required to return the money.
This story was originally published August 6, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “2 closed charter schools owe the state $377K. Can NC recover the money?.”
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