By Agnel Philip and Ricardo Cano | The Republic
The abrupt closure of a Goodyear charter school in January left hundreds of parents scrambling to find a new school and teachers without jobs.
An Arizona Republic analysis of charter-school finances statewide shows dozens of other schools could be on the brink of similar financial ruin, and the state has little power to intervene.
Charter holders of 40 schools were labeled as “going concerns” by their auditors in the 2016-17 school year, a subjective measure meaning there was concern that they could close within a year due to their finances, according to The Republic’s analysis.
Charter holders of 125 schools — 28 percent of those with available data — failed at least three of four quantifiable measures of financial health set by the state charter board, according to the newspaper’s analysis of financial reports of operators representing 454 schools.
