A Fort Mill charter school is without a management company and operating in limbo after Ascent Classical Academies terminated its contract and walked away this week, citing the unauthorized removal of school funds and a breakdown in board governance that it says made continued operations impossible.
Ascent Classical Academies, the Colorado-based company that managed Ascent Classical Academy of Fort Mill, announced it ceased operations at the school effective April 6. The school’s charter, however, remains with an independent governing board authorized by the Charter Institute at Erskine, and the ultimate fate of the school is now in the hands of those entities.
The situation leaves roughly 230 students, families and staff in uncertainty, with no public word yet from the charter authorizer on what comes next.
The school had been operating under a Service Provider Agreement between ACA and the independent governing board. Under that arrangement, ACA handled day-to-day operations, staffing and financial management while the board provided formal oversight.
The school opened in August 2024, making this only its second year of operation. Its first full fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2025, showed a school that had stabilized financially after a rocky start. The school carried a fund balance deficit of $49,714 heading into fiscal year 2025, then turned that around to post a positive fund balance of $178,538 by year’s end. Total revenues for the year came in at just under $2.8 million, driven largely by state funding of more than $2.4 million along with roughly $280,000 in federal grants. An independent audit completed in October 2025 by Martin Smith and Company CPAs of Greenville found no material weaknesses in financial controls and no compliance violations.
The school’s approved budget for fiscal year 2026, the year now disrupted by ACA’s departure, projected total revenues of approximately $3.3 million, including more than $2.8 million in state funding and $377,000 in federal funds. Average teacher salaries were budgeted at $48,100 and the principal’s average salary was budgeted at $84,108.
ACA had been paid a management fee equal to 14 percent of the school’s qualified gross revenues. For fiscal year 2025, that fee totaled $378,617, of which the school still owed ACA $226,434 as of June 30, 2025. ACA said it had been intentionally leaving deferred management fees in the school’s accounts to support cash flow and notified the board in late March that it planned to withdraw those funds.
The situation reached a breaking point in early April. On April 2, a member of the governing board removed all remaining funds from the school’s accounts without board approval, according to ACA. That action wiped out the school’s operating capital and made it impossible to meet payroll and other required expenses, ACA said.
The timing compounded the crisis. The withdrawal occurred just before a scheduled board meeting at which major governance decisions were expected. Multiple board members subsequently resigned, leaving the board unable to function. With no operating funds and no functioning board, ACA said it could no longer legally or responsibly continue.
The company’s South Carolina regional board currently lists only one member, Dennis Getter, serving as treasurer. ACA has directed families and staff seeking current information about the school’s status to contact the Charter Institute at Erskine.
The school had received a federal Charter School Program grant in 2023 through the South Carolina Department of Education to support curriculum, classroom equipment and community outreach. That federal grant totaled $241,600 in fiscal year 2025.
ACA acknowledged the disruption caused to the school community but said the conditions required to continue operating responsibly no longer existed.
Sources: Ascent Classical Academies public statement, April 2026; Ascent Classical Academy of Fort Mill Annual Financial Report, fiscal year ended June 30, 2025; Ascent Classical Academy of Fort Mill FY26 Approved General Fund Budget
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