2 North Las Vegas charter schools receive notices of concern from state board

The state’s charter school authority voted Friday morning to issue notices of concern to two North Las Vegas charter schools, CIVICA Career and Collegiate Academy and Explore Academy.

The vote comes after the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority’s board reviewed the annual financial audits from both schools and found that they failed to meet standards in some areas by a “significant margin.”

CIVICA, located near Carey Avenue and Civic Center Drive, received two “falls far below standards” ratings in their financial performance, showing that the school is at higher risk for debt default.

Explore Academy fared worse, with three “does not meet standards” ratings, and three “falls far below standards” ratings.

The findings show that the school was spending more than it was making for fiscal year 2022, causing concern for the board.

Justin Baiardo, executive director of Explore Academy, said at Friday’s meeting that he agreed with the board and accepted the notice for concern.

The next steps for both schools is to develop and submit a financial improvement plan and provide updates about the implementation of the plan.

The board had previously issued a notice of breach to Girls Empowerment Middle School — the step following a notice of concern — and voted unanimously to close the school due to low enrollment.

In an update provided to the board Friday, Mark Modrcin, director of authorizing, said that the closure of GEMS is on track and that over 85 percent of students have already enrolled in other schools.

Contact Kiara Adams at kadams@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-0399. Follow @kiadams101 on Twitter.