The state Education Department continues to indicate, after almost a decade of not-so-aggressive review, that it’s getting serious about regulation of charter schools.

State Department news release:

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Today, the Little Rock Urban Collegiate Public Charter School for Young Men (LRUCPC) received notice that on March 14, 2011, the State Board of Education will consider the possibility of acting on the school’s open-enrollment charter. Possible actions include placing the school on probation, modifying the open-enrollment charter or revoking the charter. The reasons for this potential action are:

• LRUCPC allegedly failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management; and

• LRUCPC allegedly failed to comply with other applicable laws and regulations.

As of January 31, 2011, the school’s unrestricted legal balance was a negative $84,946.57. The charter school had additional unrecorded liabilities totaling $95,577.89. Additionally, on July 30, 2010, the school reported an enrollment of 596 students when the actual enrollment on that date was 297. “As a result of LRUCPC’s deficiencies in the area of financial performance, I am compelled to exercise my authority and intervene,” said Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell.

This school, meant to serve poor and underachieving black males in grades K-8, had problems from the start, as our article some months ago noted. The Board of Education itself was divided on the application.

I couldn’t reach officials at the school, at 6711 W. Markham Street.

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