Dec. 20—ROCHESTER — Two Rochester charter schools operating out of the same building have filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents.
The schools include the Rochester STEM Academy and the Rochester Math and Science Academy, which are located on 16th Street Southwest in a building formerly used as the First Baptist Church.
The bankruptcy petition was filed Dec. 5. A representative for the schools could not be immediately reached.
According to Minnesota statutes, charter schools are not allowed to "use state money to purchase land or buildings." The schools created a nonprofit, called the Rochester MSA Building Co., to officially own the space. Court documents list the Rochester MSA Building Co. as a debtor along with the schools.
In 2018, the nonprofit
secured $15 million
to renovate and expand the facility. Court documents say the nonprofit rents the building to the schools through separate leases.
According to the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools, the Rochester STEM Academy began in the fall of 2011, serving grades 9-12 with an enrollment of 116. The association says the school's focus is "minority, immigrant and other students currently underserved in traditional area high schools and greatly underrepresented in Rochester's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) industries."
The Rochester Math and Science academy serves students K-8 and has an enrollment of 414. The Minnesota Association of Charter Schools says the school's focus is to serve an "immigrant population, multi-cultural," with an "emphasis on reading, writing and math."