The Office of Charter Schools decided a recent dispute between Shining Rock Classical Academy and a parent is outside its jurisdiction in a decision released Monday, Dec. 5.

Over the last eight months, three board members have either resigned or been removed from the Shining Rock Classical Academy Board of Directors, two of whom had issues with school leadership. During that time, no replacement board members have been added.

Shining Rock Classical Academy may have just opened the doors to its new building  at the start of this school year, but plans for phase II of the construction process were in the works long before students ever stepped foot in the new building. 

The quiet calm of a bright summer morning dissipates like dew off the freshly manicured lawn upon entering Shining Rock Classical Academy. Inside, the back-to-school energy is palpable. 

At the regularly scheduled meeting of the Shining Rock Classical Academy Board of Directors, the decision was made to begin offering high school grades effective in August 2021.

Shining Rock Classical Academy’s Board of Directors recently voted to terminate its long-time partnership with TeamCFA, a national network of charter schools that provided SRCA with the initial funding it needed to get the school up and running. 

According to a press release, Shining Rock Classical Academy board of directors recently unanimous voted to accept the architectural designs and preliminary budget for a permanent school facility as presented by design-build partner, BC Construction Group (BCCG). In partnership with Shining Rock and BCCG, Performance CSD will be providing financial resources to fund and finance the project.

The North Carolina State Board of Education recently voted to renew the charter for Shining Rock Classical Academy for another seven years. 

A consultant with the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools recommended that Shining Rock Classical Academy’s charter should be renewed for five years despite ongoing concerns about the school’s lack of transparency, and the state’s director of charter schools has refused to answer why. 

Editor’s note: This is the ninth in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical Academy, which has been beset by a host of academic and organizational problems since opening in 2015.

Despite a long history of illegal meetings, improper closed sessions and complaints about transparency, the story of Shining Rock Classical Academy’s efforts to conceal its expenditures of taxpayer money has just entered an alarming new chapter.