Mississippi Board Votes to Close Top-Performing Charter School

Mississippi's Board of Education has voted to close SR1 College Preparatory and STEM Academy, a charter school in Canton that has outperformed its peers and is on track to earn an A rating. The decision, made by a board of seven members, with one absent and three participating by telephone, comes despite the school's strong academic and financial performance.

SR1 CPSA, which serves 124 students, nearly all of whom are economically disadvantaged, has achieved remarkable results. On the spring 2026 MAAP assessment, 88.2 percent of third graders passed the state reading test, surpassing the state average of 75.6 percent and the 67.1 percent of the Canton Public School District. The school's kindergartners posted the highest fall score of any Mississippi charter school and showed the strongest fall-to-spring growth, 18.74 points against a state figure of 17.95.

The school's financial health is robust. An independent audit by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, completed on October 7, 2026, carried an unmodified opinion for the third consecutive year, with cash reserves of $776,520 and 173 days of operating reserves. The audit also showed a net position increase of more than $785,000 in a single year. The Board's revocation case was based on a 2024-2025 forecast that the school had only one day of cash on hand, a forecast that was later proven incorrect.

Enrollment has grown by 400 percent across three years. By June 1, 2026, 150 families had enrolled for the 2026-27 school year. However, after the May hearing and subsequent media coverage, families withdrew, and enrollment fell to 124 students. The school's academic and financial performance has been independently verified, with no evidence of irregularities in federal Charter Schools Program expenditures.

The Board's own proceedings have not supported its allegations. The Hearing Officer's October 6, 2026, findings concluded that the Board did not provide the school with any corrective assistance, did not prove any missed obligations, and found no evidence of nutrition violations. The Board voted to close the school within three business days without asking the school any questions about its performance or financial status.

SR1 CPSA, founded by Tamu Green, is Mississippi's first college-preparatory and STEM public charter school, serving kindergarten through fourth grade. The school opened in 2023 after its application was denied in 2018 and 2019 and approved in October 2020. The vote comes with roughly $300,000 in federal Charter Schools Program funds for the school's students sitting idle under an authorizer hold since 2023, with more than $150,000 in previously authorized, grant-aligned expenses that the Board declined to reimburse.

The decision is a setback for the school and its community. SR1 CPSA will continue to operate while pursuing all legal avenues to keep the school open. The school's governing board and staff are committed to serving the students and families of Canton and the surrounding areas.