Rutherford County board issues notice of deficiency to two charter schools after annual report

The Rutherford County Schools board voted on Feb. 19 to issue a formal notice of deficiency to its two authorized charter schools and to require each school to submit a plan of corrective action by March 25, 2026.

The action followed a detailed annual authorizer report presented by Jeff McCann and Miss Walters, who said the districtperformance framework weights student outcomes (25%), mission-specific goals (10%), comparative performance versus Rutherford County schools (40%), and growth/TVAAS measures (25%). McCann and Walters reported that American Classical Academy (ACAR) and Springs Empower received composite academic scores the authorizer categorized as "does not meet standard," and that ACAR showed weak fiscal indicators in its FY25 audit.

McCann said some waiver practices are common for charter schools and reviewed each school's results. Miss Walters highlighted academic subcomponents and test results, noting both schools scored high on the ELPA (English language proficiency) measure. "Moving on to ELPA, they both did a great job of scoring a 4 which exceeds the standards," Miss Walters said during the presentation.

On finance, the authorizerpresentation flagged several concerns for ACAR, including a current ratio the authorizer rated as far below standard, negative days cash on hand, a negative total margin and a debt of about $96,000 tied to facility rent due in late June. McCann told the board that Springs had not yet submitted its annual audit at the time the authorizer compiled the report, and that missing an audit can constitute a material breach of the charter agreement.

Board members expressed urgency about the financial and compliance risks. Several members pressed for a firm response: one member argued that, because public funds are involved, the authorizer needed to act now rather than wait. The board adopted a motion (moved by Stan Vaught and seconded by Butch Vaughn) directing staff to issue notices of deficiency and to require each charter to deliver a corrective-action plan to the board by March 25, 2026. The motion passed on a roll call vote with all members present voting yes.

McCann told the board staff would prepare formal notices and indicated the district had requested an extension from the State Board of Education to update its annual authorizer report by March 1 to reflect any subsequently filed audits. Board members also asked that charter leadership appear at an upcoming board retreat for follow-up discussion.

The board's action does not itself revoke charters or implement sanctions beyond the notice-and-plan process; McCann described the next steps as a collaborative corrective-action process in which the authorizer and each school's governing board develop and approve a remediation plan. The board asked staff to report back on which deficiencies had already been corrected and to provide updated audit materials as soon as they were available.

The authorizer report named multiple compliance issues in ACARincluding gaps in nursing services, ESL/ELPA delivery, RTI implementation and teacher credentialing early in the school yearand noted that Springs had an administrative complaint and mediation request on special-education services that it later corrected. Both enrollment and financial shortfalls were cited as drivers of ACARand Springsfirst-year deficits.

The board will review the submitted corrective plans when they arrive and scheduled additional review time at its March meetings.

What the board will see next: formal notices and any updated audit reports; corrective-action plans due to the board by March 25, 2026; charter representatives invited to appear at the board retreat for follow-up.