“The financial challenges we face are directly related to IQS’s constant interference in our decision-making processes and erosion of our autonomy,” Ibrahim said in a statement. “Their intentional and discriminatory actions have wasted our time and resources and diverted our focus from our core priorities in education.”
IQS first cited weaknesses in STEP’s board oversight in 2019, saying the board failed to act when Ibrahim repeatedly engaged in “inadequate management conduct.”
However, the situation did not reach crisis level until the cost of expanding the school to Burnsville in 2022 exhausted STEP’s financial space. Fund balances, the most important indicator of a charter school’s financial health, fell from $2.7 million in 2022 to $54,461 in 2023, state records show.
In response to Ibrahim’s allegations, IQS said in a statement that its repeated interventions are aimed at ensuring the school operates in accordance with state guidelines and adheres to commitments made in its contract with the nonprofit organization. Ta.
“It is unfortunate that Dr. Ibrahim has made unsubstantiated claims of racial bias,” IQS board chairman Steve Kelly said in a statement. “He is wrong. IQS and its leadership team have acted professionally and fairly.”
