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One of the state's largest charter schools is on the brink of shutting down.

At a chaotic meeting of the STEP Academy board last night, parents were told the school is bleeding cash. At the beginning of the school year, its deficit was $800,000; it's now $2.1 million. Two board members also resigned, KARE-11 reports.

The campuses in St. Paul and Burnsville work to serve students who are underrepresented in traditional educational settings and in STEM fields. STEP also has a large Somali student population. But the school’s future — and finances — are in peril.

Jeffrey Meitrodt, investigative reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune, joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition to break down what he says could be the 

“largest charter school failure in Minnesota history.”

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Jeffrey Meitrodt, investigative reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune, joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition to break down what he says could be the “largest charter school failure in Minnesota history.”

Listen: Investigative reporter explains STEP Academy's financial peril

A yellow public school bus pulls to a stop. 

Listen: Investigative reporter explains STEP Academy's financial peril

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