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SALT LAKE CITY — American International School of Utah, which shuttered earlier this month, missed its deadline to refund more than $415,000 in special education funds that state officials said were improperly spent or there was no documentation to support the expenditures.
On Friday, Deputy State Superintendent of Operations Scott Jones confirmed that AISU, a public charter school in Murray, missed the June 26 deadline to repay the state and federal education funds from state unrestricted funds.
The Utah State School Board has asked for repayment of $170,438.01 in federal special education funds and $245,251.27 in state funds.
Jones said legal counsel for the State School Board was preparing letters to inform AISU officials that the payments are outstanding and the balance will be due on or before July 3.
AISU's board of directors voted in May to close the school amid growing concerns about the school's financial viability, the likelihood of further state scrutiny of its operations and the possibility of additional liabilities.
The closure displaced some 1,300 students and 170 full- and part-time employees.
While the state board has, in the past, forgiven expenditures of some charter schools, the federal government insists on repayment. According to one court decision, school closure is not an acceptable rationale to seek forgiveness of repayment.
It is unclear how the school would repay the costs since its last state funding will be provided in July. AISU is in the process of liquidating school assets but it is unclear if that will raise sufficient revenue to meet its obligations.
AISU has also been working with Squire & Co, a certified accounting firm retained by the Utah State Charter School Board, "to assist in reconciliations," Jones said previously.
Earlier, State School Board staff reviewed special education expenditures for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 fiscal years and found numerous record-keeping and documentation problems.
Current board members and school officers blamed much of the school's current financial and records problems on previous operators.
The school had operated at a deficit for a number of years but was in the midst of a course correction this academic year, Tasi Young, AISU's executive director, said in previous interviews.
AISU officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. The school's marketing director, responding by text, said he is no longer employed by AISU.
