Christie Administration Closing Adelaide Sanford Charter School

The Christie administration announced Monday it will close Newark's troubled Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School next week because of poor academic performance and for not complying with state regulations, according to a published report.

In a letter by Assistant Education Commissioner Evo Popoff, she said state officials "lost confidence" in the school's board of trustees and its ability to "meet the basic requirements to serve its students' best interests," the Star-Ledger reported. 

The K-7 charter school at Washington and James streets was founded by Newark activist Fredrica Bey in 2007. It had been on probation for more than a year, and Adelaide L. Sanford's closure is the second to occur in New Jersey in the last five years, the article said. 

The state’s decision to close Adelaide Sanford comes six weeks after a Ledger report that millions of dollars in state and federal aid to the school helped fund real estate holdings controlled by Bey.

Next week's closing leaves students and parents with tough choices to consider as deadlines for 2013-14 lotteries for seats in other charter schools have passed.