The bankruptcy case of a metro area charter school is ramping up after it decided against fighting for its survival.
In an emergency meeting Tuesday night, the board of the Inver Grove Heights-based Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, or TiZA, resolved not to appeal a state decision to shut it down for lack of an approved overseer. Instead, TiZA will start winding down its operations.
Meanwhile, three of the school’s presumptive creditors - the state, its former overseer and the American Civil Liberties Union - are arguing TiZA is an unreliable debtor. They’ve asked the bankruptcy court to appoint a trustee to oversee the school and, at an emergency hearing this morning, to block TiZA from spending money.
In 2009, the ACLU sued TiZA over charges it promoted religion - a case that’s still pending in federal court. The state and former overseer Islamic Relief, once co-defendants in the case, settled with the ACLU and are now seeking legal expenses from the school.
After a contentious start to the hearing today, TiZA agreed to stop making any payments and try to reach an agreement with creditors over what would constitute appropriate expenses in the coming months.