This article was originally published in CalMatters.
A beleaguered Sacramento charter school, which the state last year accused of misspending $180 million, has filed for bankruptcy after the school said negotiations broke down over its repayment of the debt.
Highlands Community and Technical Schools, which serves about 2,000 adults at six campuses in the Sacramento area, remains open.
“Highlands is taking this step to protect our students and preserve the future of our schools,” the school’s executive director, Jonathan Raymond, said in a written statement. “The reorganization process gives us the best opportunity to remain open and continue serving students while we address the disputed financial claims through an orderly, court-supervised process.”
Relocation to Sutter County?
Highlands’s quest to relocate to Sutter County also remains in play. The school is awaiting a decision from the Sutter County Board of Education over its petition for a new charter, under a new name: California Learning Academy. Yuba City Unified School District, where Highlands hoped to expand, denied the school’s charter request in July…