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PCSD trustees renew Tall Pines STEM Academys 10-year charter after questions on demographics and finances
Summary
The South Carolina Public Charter School District board approved a 10-year renewal for Tall Pines STEM Academy, citing strong academics and financial support from Clemson's Youth Learning Institute while trustees pressed the school on minority-recruitment goals and operating reserves.
Madam Chair and the South Carolina Public Charter School District board voted Nov. 20 to renew Tall Pines STEM Academys charter for 10 years after staff recommended renewal based on academic, operational and financial reviews.
Kristin Farmer, chief of authorization and development for PCSD, told trustees Tall Pines was initially approved in 2015, began serving grades 5— in 2016, and currently enrolls 398 students on Clemson Universitys Camp Long campus. Farmer said the school has met the state-mandated 75% certified staffing requirement for seven years, has maintained steady enrollment, carried a low financial-risk rating and spent about 90.58% of expenditures on instruction.
The school proposed two policy changes in its revised charter: adopting I-Ready Diagnostics as its universal screener and progress-monitoring tool for ELA and math, and adding a 10% preferential enrollment status for dependents of active-duty military and updated lottery procedures. Farmer said the recommended renewal follows a comprehensive review and corrective steps taken to address a single audit finding.
Trustees asked detailed questions before the vote. One trustee noted a statement in the renewal packet indicating the school was 5 percentage points short of meeting a demographic threshold under South Carolina code 59-40-50 and asked whether the plan to recruit students of color was documented. Farmer introduced Tall Pines principal Laurie Master Monaco and other school representatives, who said the school has an outreach plan, described in the renewal materials, and pointed to recent community engagement nights and partnerships with faith- and community-based organizations.
Trustees also sought clarity on financial presentations. A trustee pointed to a $892,000 cash balance reported for 2025 versus an ending fund balance line that showed roughly $76,000 (about 1.65% of general fund expenditures) and asked how those figures reconciled with an 8.33% fund-balance expectation. Finance staff said the Youth Learning Institute (YLI) and Clemson provide contractual support and backstop certain operations, which reduces the school's standalone reserve exposure.
After discussion and a short video presentation by the school, the board moved, seconded and voted to approve the 10-year renewal. The chair called for the vote and recorded unanimous support with no members recorded as opposed.
The boards approval is conditional on the terms reflected in the renewal report and the schools continued implementation of corrective measures identified in its audit. Trustees encouraged continued outreach to increase diversity and invited the school to work with PCSD staff on measurable recruitment goals and monitoring procedures.
The board presented Tall Pines staff with gifts and invited them to a reception following the meeting.
