Don Bosco Charter High School

“Charter school seeks donations to pay salaries.” Associated Press 01 Jul 2011

KANSAS CITY -- A recently closed Kansas City charter school is asking for donations to help pay teachers who otherwise could lose three months of income.

Don Bosco Charter High School was unable to make payroll Thursday after the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education accused the school of failing to follow the rules for spending federal money and withheld about $200,000 over the past two months.

Don Bosco Centers, the charity that started the school, said that the school can't pay teacher and staff salaries for the rest of June, July and August without the money...

Normally, the state could recoup the money more gradually by withholding it from future payments. But [Ron Lankford, the state deputy commissioner of education] said that with the school closing, the options are limited. Hypothetically, the legislature could hold a special session and allocate extra money to the school. The school also could seek forgiveness from the federal government, but Lankford said such a request is unlikely to be granted...

 

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UCM SPONSORED CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSING. digitalBURG.com (University of Central Missouri) 04 May 2011 

Officials from Don Bosco, a charter high school in Kansas City, Mo., recently announced that the school will be closing at the end of this school year…

The main reason for closing Don Bosco is a lack of funding. State funding is tied to attendance, and with only about 125 of the school’s 160 students attending on a typical day, “We came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t have enough revenue to go forward and help students get where they needed to be,” Scielzo said. According to the press release, the school’s board also cited academic performance concerns, including poor scores on state tests.

Don Bosco will also be working with the placement office at UCM to help faculty and staff members find other job opportunities. Currently, there are 16 staff members at the school.

“The job market for teachers is challenging now because of the economy,” Hughes said. “About 140 teachers were recently non-renewed by the Kansas City district,” she added, “but we will be assisting [the teachers] as much as possible.”…

UCM is working to see that there is a systematic plan for housing students’ records. “We will make sure all records are kept and organized and that all credits are received so students are ready for graduation,” Hughes said. “Some students may choose to wait a year before going back to school [after the transition], and we want to be sure their records will be available when they make that decision.” … [Yet another complication of closing]

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DON BOSCO CHARTER SCHOOL TO CLOSE  KCTV (MO) 08 Apr 2011 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Don Bosco Charter High School Education Board announced the school will close at the end of the current school year Friday morning.

After 10 years, the board said due to the school's projected financial situation and available funding, the school would be unable to operate for the 2011-12 school year. School officials said the school is running at an $80,000 deficit this year. The board also cited Missouri's funding formula, which is based on attendance which has slipped in recent years and has always been an issue…