Report: More than 100 Arizona charter schools could close

A new report says more than 100 of the 544 charter schools in Arizona are in danger of closing because of excessive debt and other financial troubles.

Self-described centrist think tank Grand Canyon Institute found that 105 charter schools in the state were losing more than $400 per student, per year.

The study’s main author, Curt Cardine, says “a bunch of charters” will close suddenly. Cardine is a former charter executive for EdKey Inc., a large Arizona charter chain that had a $7.74 million net deficit as of June 30, 2018.

Arizona State Board for Charter Schools Chairwoman Kathy Senseman disputes that so many charters will close, saying Grand Canyon Institute’s estimates are “a little inflated.”

But Senseman says she considers the institute’s research to be “fair.”

The institute examined charter school finances between 2014 and 2017.