A controversy at Ascent Classical Academy has pushed all but one school board member to resign.
FORT MILL, S.C. โ Allegations are brewing at a York County charter school that money was improperly taken from accounts. The controversy has led to lots of resignations of board members.
Elizabeth Knight had a student at Ascent Classical Academy in Fort Mill, sheโs one of many parents who had concerns
“It all looks like a scam,” Knight said.
Those concerns that are now at the center of a state investigation.
“We’ve been waiting for this for six months,” Knight said.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster is calling on the South Carolina Office of Inspector General to step in after allegations of money gone missing.
The governor is asking for a full review, including whether any fraud, waste, abuse, or wrongdoing occurred within the schoolโs governing board.
All board members have since resigned but one.
“They were so weak instead of helping to fix the problem they just resigned and were gonna let the school die,” Knight said.
State prosecutor Jenny Desch said when allegations like this are brought forward, investigators begin by reviewing financial records.
“If they’re resigning and then they become part of the conspiracy, the investigation will eventually figure that out,” Desch said. “You follow the money, but the first order of business is figuring out who would have jurisdiction and what crimes were potentially being committed.”
The schoolโs leadership, the Charter Institute at Erskine, said to prevent any further unauthorized withdrawals and to protect the schoolโs financial resources, Ascent Classical’s treasurer withdrew the remaining funds.
“Erskine was already on it and trying to help get the school back up,” Knight said. “If they hadn’t done that the school would not have been able to open today.”
Questions on how much money was stolen and how much was taken out to prevent further issues still remain. School leaders have not yet responded to WCNC inquiries.
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