Kern County board issues notice of violation to Central Academy of Arts and Technology over fiscal concerns

The Kern County Board of Education voted to approve issuance of a formal notice of violation to the Central Academy of Arts and Technology (CAT) on April 8, 2025, after the Kern County Office of Education (Kern County Office of Education, KCSOS) presented evidence that the charter school is operating with significant fiscal instability and incomplete financial reporting.

KCSOS staff told trustees that CAT’s second interim statements showed rapidly growing deficit spending, a negative projected ending fund balance for the current year and material inconsistencies between the numbers reported to the board and entries in the school’s general ledger. The county office said those discrepancies, combined with repeated failures to post minutes and agendas under the Brown Act, together created a material and uncured violation under Education Code § 47607. The board approved issuing a notice of violation, which gives CAT 15 days to submit a corrective remedy; the county board will review that response at its May meeting and may proceed toward a revocation hearing in June if the problems are not cured.

Why it matters: If CAT cannot demonstrate short-term solvency and a credible plan for sustained operations, the county may begin revocation proceedings. KCSOS officials said delay without corrective action could leave the county liable for unpaid payroll and other obligations if the school runs out of cash.

What KCSOS presented KCSOS assistant superintendent Jonathan Medina and other finance staff laid out the office’s findings. Key elements cited by the county office included: - Large drop in reported average daily attendance (ADA) from figures used in CAT’s original petition (petition listed 370.5 ADA) to certified mid‑year counts: first‑interim assumptions dropped to ~199.41 ADA and CALPADS P‑1 actual ADA was reported at 168, the presenters said. - A swing from a modest projected deficit at first interim into an almost $700,000 projected deficit in the second interim, producing a negative ending fund balance for 2024–25 (county staff characterized the available resources as negative roughly $394,000 based on the second‑interim package submitted to the office). - Material…