ST PAUL, Minn. — STEP Academy continues to find itself in troubled waters. At a board meeting on October 21, two board members, including the board chair, resigned, and the charter school's finance director said the school's operating budget deficit had grown to $2.16 million.
KARE 11 obtained a letter sent on October 11 from Innovative Quality Schools (IQS), which is STEP's authorizer, that stated the school had not complied with the terms of their agreement, and that if STEP does not correct these issues within 10 days, IQS has sole discretion to terminate the contract.
It goes on to say that all of Superintendent Mustafa Ibrahim's responsibilities related to finance, operations, employment and human resources were supposed to be delegated to STEP Academy's new COO in July. However, according to the letter, Ibrahim was centrally involved in the recent layoffs and did so without the school board's authorization.
Late Wednesday afternoon, IQS said the concerns in the letter have now been addressed. IQS wanted to see a more robust school board which they say was satisfied when five new board members were appointed on Monday. They also note that Ibrahim has officially resigned, which KARE 11 first reported on Friday.
KARE 11 reached out to every board member and Ibrahim, but has gotten no response.
STEP Academy serves a significant part of the Somali community in the Capital City, and works to reach students who are underserved by traditional schools and underrepresented in STEM fields.