Kansas City Charter School Closes Before New School Year

An academically struggling charter school in Kansas City has closed just weeks before local schools resume classes.

Doug Thaman is executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association. He tells the Kansas City Star that Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy of Technology has shuttered after failing to meet state performance expectations for several years.

Thaman says the association will help parents find other school options for their children.

The University of Central Missouri decided to sever ties with the school in October. The university’s contract as the charter’s sponsor expired last month.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says the school was unable to find a replacement sponsor.

Banneker’s superintendent Marian Brown didn’t return the newspaper’s requests for comment Monday.