ST. LOUIS COUNTY • The Missouri Board of Education on Tuesday notified Missouri Baptist University that its authorization to sponsor charter schools could be in jeopardy.
At its monthly meeting, the state board voted to hold a hearing on April 16 to determine whether the university will continue sponsoring charter schools.
Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri Baptist sponsors the six charter schools in St. Louis operated by the Virginia-based Imagine Schools Inc. The schools, which enroll close 4,000 children, have come under fire for their academic failure, financial instability, and real estate arrangements that have been profitable for the management company at the expense of education. In December, Missouri Baptist announced it would revoke sponsorship of two of the schools — Imagine Academy of Academic Success and Imagine Academy of Cultural Arts — closing them at the end of the school year.
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For the past two years, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has urged the university to address problems at the Imagine schools. If the Board of Education votes to end the university's role in sponsoring charter schools, it likely would result in the closure of the other four Imagine schools in the city unless another sponsor were found. Missouri Baptist also sponsors Carondelet Leadership Academy.Â
