Pasco charter school faces threat of closure

Pasco MYcroSchool opened in 2017 with the promise of helping high school dropouts, or teens at risk of leaving, to complete their high school requirements and earn a diploma.

“That hasn’t happened,” said Pasco County schools superintendent Kurt Browning, whose district sponsored the charter school.

On Tuesday, Browning sought and won permission from his School Board to notify MYcroSchool, which also has operated in eight other Florida locations, that he intended to end its Pasco charter and close its operations.

“They have had an abysmal record,” Browning told the board. “They are not helping any students.”

Board member Cynthia Armstrong asked how many teens would be impacted.

“There’s like 60-odd students, and last year they graduated two,” Browning said.

The school also has not provided required financial information to the district, and has not delivered other information mandated by law.

Concerns about the school’s performance are nothing new. Browning also threatened to shut it down shortly after it began operations, as its enrollment fell well short of the 250 students the charter projected it would have.

The district advanced the school money based on 250 students, but on the first day, fewer than a dozen attended. The numbers rose somewhat, but the school had to return funds to the district to avoid closure.

This school year, MYcroSchool anticipated more than doubling its enrollment, but that did not occur.

“Quite frankly, I’ve had it with them,” Browning said. “I am confident if we had those kids back in our system, we would have a better chance of getting them through to a diploma.”