The Village Leadership Academy will permanently close at the conclusion of this school year.
Charter school leaders and board members made the decision last month because of enrollment decreases and mounting financial challenges.
Last year, TVLA downsized to a smaller facility in Meridian after defaulting on its building loan in Boise. The school was unable to successfully utilize a multi-year plan aimed at getting its finances back on track.
Idaho Education News was unable to reach school administrators Tuesday for comment. The school’s website states that 2023-24 will be the school’s final year.
Enrollment this year dropped to 72 students, down 147 last school year. Enrollment peaked in 2018-19 at a high of 487. When TVLA opened in 2011, its capacity was 550 students. There are reportedly nine employees on staff. The school has received $877,413 so far this year from the state.
The K-8 school is unable to meet its financial obligations, according to an annual performance report by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission. The K-8 school was financially compliant one time during its previous five-year charter term.
The school’s operating income of $69,141 is far below its annual debt service of $912,882 and liabilities outweigh assets by $500,000, states the report.
The public charter commission placed several conditions on the school last year, namely it must attain a “meets standard” rating for all financial measures and maintain an enrollment of 265 students; both English language arts and math scores must achieve a “meets standard” rating.
ELA performance was trending in the right direction but all three math performance measures were below standard last year.
The school’s facility in Boise was too expensive
The school’s previous building, located on Fairmeadow Dr. in Boise, was too large and too expensive for the charter to maintain, according to previous reporting by EdNews. The building was purchased in 2017, in hopes that the school’s student body population would grow to fill the space and pay off the facilities loan.
But since 2019, the student population dropped by more than half. A third-party report that year also uncovered financial malpractice, putting the school at risk of closure.
The charter board decided to exit the original loan and seek a smaller, more affordable building in Meridian.
The school was designed to accomplish the following goals:
- Achieving and maintaining Lighthouse School status.
- Teaching differentiation using the Limitless Learning Method.
- Teaching effective leadership principles using the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
- Teaching character development using the ACE Approach and Core Values.
- Using teaching methods and curriculum that are challenging and engaging, research-based, hands-on, real-world applicable, and develop critical thinking skills.
