State authorizers may force SR1 College Preparatory and STEM Academy, a Canton-based charter school, to close because of faulty financial reporting and poor fiscal management.

The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board voted Monday to hold a public hearing to determine SR1 CPSA’s fate. The authorizer board’s executive director would have to appoint a hearing officer, who would schedule the public hearing. 

The authorizer board did not provide a timeline for completing the process. State statute requires notifying charter authorizer board members, school officials and other relevant parties of an administrative hearing at least 30 days in advance.

SR1 CPSA would be the state’s first charter school to reach this stage of the revocation process. No one from SR1 CPSA attended the board’s meeting on Monday. 

The hearing would initiate “a formal review process outlined by state law and the school’s charter school contract,” a statement the charter authorizer board released Monday states. “Revocation proceedings allow the school an opportunity to respond and participate in the process before any final decision is made.”

The authorizer board began the process of revoking SR1 CPSA’s charter at its December board meeting by jumpstarting revocation review, which included setting up a corrective action plan with school leadership and allowing them the opportunity to prove financial solvency.

The board began the most recent process of shuttering the school because it had one day’s worth of cash on hand and submitted its financial audit 23 days late, which does not meet the standard set by the board. The board also recommends schools have 30 to 60 days worth of cash on hand. 

SR1 CPSA has never met its enrollment target, which meant it received less funding from the Mississippi Department of Education. The state funds schools based on a head count and recoups money the following year from schools that overproject their enrollment.  

The authorizer board approved a charter for SR1 CPSA in December 2020 after multiple failed application attempts by Gregory Tamu Green, the CEO of SR1, a Ridgeland-based nonprofit organization that operates the charter school. The school delayed its start from 2022-23 to 2023-24 because of struggles securing space as well as challenges recruiting.

The charter authorizer board has questioned SR1 CPSA’s financial solvency for the past two years. At a March 2024 meeting, board members questioned the school’s ability to fund itself. They also expressed concern with the school’s budgeting.

Green founded SR1 CPSA. His wife, Dorlisa Hutton, serves as the chief operating officer of SR1, the nonprofit parent company, and bears the title of Vanguard Ambassador at the charter school. 

Neither Green nor Hutton could immediately be reached for comment.