NLV charter school, $14M in debt, to have new owners by 2027

Nevada’s charter school authority voted unanimously to terminate a North Las Vegas charter school’s contract and establish new ownership after concerns over finances and governance came to the authority’s attention.

FuturEdge Charter Academy, a K-8 campus, has over $14 million in debt and had its facilities threatened with foreclosure last month, the State Public Charter School Authority said during its Friday meeting in Las Vegas.

That debt includes nearly $13.3 million in outstanding bonds, plus almost $890,000 in unpaid principal and interest, according to Seth Klempner, principal at Rosemawr Management, the academy’s bondholder.

The firm would likely have foreclosed and sold the school’s building had new owners not been selected, Klempner said.

Now, FuturEdge will stay open for the upcoming school year as Academies of Math and Science, a charter school network, transitions to become the owners by the 2027-28 school year. FuturEdge, near West Carey Avenue and North Martin Luther King Boulevard, taught 318 students last school year.

Kristen Guthrie, principal of FuturEdge for two years, choked up as she spoke to the authority’s board in June to support a notice of termination of the academy’s contract.

“While this has been challenging, our shared focus has remained the same: ensuring continuity for our students, our families and our staff,” Guthrie said in June. “Together, we have worked to identify a path forward that allows our scholars to continue their educational journey with stability and minimal disruption.”

FuturEdge’s elementary school has been rated one-star for two consecutive years and could have had its contract terminated under Nevada law if it received another one-star rating. New leaders said they aim to improve educational outcomes.

“We want to operate five-star schools,” said Erik Greenberg, CEO of Academies of Math and Science.

FuturEdge’s website emphasizes the school’s curriculum as focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Its charter contract was written to last until the end of June 2028.

Essentially held ‘hostage’

The chair of the authority’s board, Kurt Thigpen, said FuturEdge was essentially held “hostage” by a for-profit company that spurred multi-million-dollar financial struggles and unlawful governance practices.

FuturEdge acquired a bond to purchase its North Las Vegas building in March 2021, according to a June memo to the board from Samantha King Powell, general counsel for the authority.

But Klempner said the academy had not made payments on the bond since June 2025.

In a notice of intent to default from June, Rosemawr Management threatened to foreclose the charter school’s facilities had there been no immediate change in leadership.

The school’s management were invited to weekly calls to discuss solutions to their money problems, the firm wrote, but “despite months of discussion, management has failed to provide any meaningful turnaround plan and recently has failed to attend the meetings at all.”

Guthrie testified in Friday’s meeting that Support Solutions Services, the academy’s for-profit educational management organization, had full control of FuturEdge’s bank accounts and financial decisions.

That arrangement violates Nevada law and enabled the company to call the shots on fiscal and governance decisions, King Powell wrote. Guthrie added that FuturEdge had held that arrangement since before she became principal.

As principal, Guthrie testified she needed the company’s approval for all financial transactions. When payments toward instructional materials unexpectedly weren’t made, students lost access to some English and math learning resources, Guthrie said.

“There were several occasions this past school year, and previously, that the access to our online or digital platforms were removed due to non-payment of the invoices,” Guthrie testified.

In one instance, Guthrie testified that a person affiliated with Support Solutions Services named Shubham Pandey had FuturEdge pay for IT services by a Nashville-based company. Guthrie said it was “not possible” for the Tennessee group to provide in-person tech support at the Nevada school, and Pandey did not consult her or other school leaders before entering the contract.

On-site tech support was “an additional fee on top of the $5,000 a month contract that we were in,” Guthrie testified.

Efforts to reach Pandey for comment about Support Solutions Services, and the testimony about him in Friday’s meeting, were unsuccessful.

“I’m incredibly disgusted by what the EMO (educational management organization) has done to this school. If I had it my way, I’d find a way to sue them for damages,” Thigpen said. “I know we’re limited in what we can do in our capacity, but that’s my thinking.”

FuturEdge also lacked a legally compliant governing body since at least February, authority staff found.

While reviewing FuturEdge’s board records, authority staff discovered several governance concerns, said Melissa Mackedon, executive director of the authority, in an email. Additionally, only three of the school’s nine board members actively served on the board, authority staff found.

“SPCSA staff noted issues affecting the board’s ability to hold properly noticed meetings, maintain a quorum, take valid action, and provide consistent oversight,” Mackedon said. She added that concerns were not resolved even after authority staff worked with FuturEdge’s board and management organization.

“This sustained failure of governance has left the school without effective and legally accountable oversight at a time of significant financial stress,” King Powell wrote.

Charting a new future

After voting to terminate FuturEdge’s charter contract, the authority’s board moved to allow Academies of Math and Science to restart the academy under new ownership by the 2027-28 school year.

FuturEdge will be renamed Academy of Math and Science North Vegas, according to a restart plan proposal presented to the board.

“We envision that this restart opportunity will not only turn around the academics for students affected by years of underperformance at FuturEdge, but also establish AMS North Vegas as a community school that families can rely on and the state can be proud of,” the proposal states.

Under the plan, the charter school will expand to enroll 800 students in order to meet the campus’ financial needs. Guthrie will remain the school’s principal, with Academy of Math and Science executives lauding her experience and community familiarity.

Academies of Math and Science is new to the state, expected to open its first Nevada school in the east valley this fall, near East Lake Mead and North Nellis boulevards, according to its website. Most of the charter school network’s campuses are based in Phoenix, Arizona.

New leaders assured the board that they have begun working with Rosemawr Management to develop a lease structure for the school’s first year, including securing forbearance on the accrued debt.

Under Academy of Math and Science’s ownership, “every dollar will be spent purposefully, responsibly, and transparently under rigorous internal controls,” the plan states.