Macon Charter termination process delayed by bankruptcy filing

The Georgia Department of Education’s process for potentially terminating the charter of Macon Charter Academy was delayed by the school’s filing in bankruptcy court.

On Wednesday, the school filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Georgia. That was the same day that a state school board committee was scheduled to vote on officially beginning the process to terminate MCA’s charter, or the contract it operates under.

The MCA item was removed from the agenda, though.

“We pulled this item on the advice of the Attorney General's Office because of the school's bankruptcy filing, which we received once the meeting began,” Matt Cardoza, chief communications officer for the education department, said in an email.

He added that state officials didn’t receive notice of the filing until less than an hour before the meeting was set to begin.

“So in an abundance of caution and under the advice of counsel, the item was withdrawn to allow the agency and the state board an opportunity to fully evaluate the situation,” Cardoza said.

Cardoza said the filing’s long-term effect on the termination process was “to be determined,” and that it was his understanding the school would not open for the 2016-17 school year.

A statement from Joel Callins, the school’s lawyer, earlier this week revealed that MCA had “no active plans or preparations” to open this fall, but it said the school “plans to resume normal recruitment and enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Macon Charter termination process delayed by bankruptcy filing."