By admin 
After the Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools’ bankruptcy filing, questions have arisen about the school’s use of its remaining public funds.
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Highlands, a nonprofit that operates two Sacramento-area charter schools for adult learners, offers high school and job-training programs. The organization filed for bankruptcy last week after a state audit found last year that it had received funds for which it was ineligible, engaged in wasteful spending and used improper hiring practices.
The financially troubled Highlands, however, reported a net position of $45 million at the end of the 2025-26 school year and listed about $4.2 million in communications expenses. It also recently approved $2.1 million in retainers for two law firms and its financial adviser.
“Highlands Charter is spending millions of dollars of public education funds on expensive lawyers, consultants, PR, and lobbying firms, including $4 million on communications, while attempting to use the federal bankruptcy process to shield itself from accountability by state and local authorities,” said Brittoni Ward, president of the Twin Rivers teachers union.
The retainers were with two law firms, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton and the Law Offices of Young, Minney & Corr, and financial adviser Arch + Beam Global.
Asked whether its $45 million net position was available for current needs and how the retainers fit into its financial plans, Andrew Acosta, a spokesperson for Highlands, referred The Bee to a statement it released last week.
“The reorganization process gives us the best opportunity to remain open and continue serving students while we address the disputed financial claims through an orderly, court-supervised process,” Jonathan Raymond, who became Highlands’ executive director in July after the dispute surfaced, said in the statement.
“Nearly 2,000 students depend on Highlands to earn a diploma, build career skills and create a better future for themselves and their families. They remain our focus, and we will keep fighting to serve them.”
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Highlands said it filed for bankruptcy to buy time as it pursues a new charter in Sutter County, where the county board of education is expected to consider the application in December. In January, the Twin Rivers Unified school board voted to revoke the organization’s charters, but the Sacramento County Board of Education overturned that decision months later. Twin Rivers appealed the ruling to the California State Board of Education.
On Tuesday, Highlands filed a motion asking a bankruptcy judge to halt the appeal, arguing that it should be automatically paused because of the bankruptcy filing. A hearing on the request is scheduled for Nov. 10, two days before the State Board is set to consider the appeal.
Dispute over repayment
It remains unclear how much Highlands will have to repay the state and how the money would be repaid.
The California Department of Education says Highlands owes about $243 million, while the organization puts the amount closer to $180 million.
The organization has argued that Twin Rivers Unified School District, its chartering authority, should share responsibility because of its role in overseeing the school, which echoes the finding of the state auditor — that Twin Rivers did the minimum to check on the school’s financial health each year.
“If Twin Rivers had conducted more thorough oversight, it could have identified some of the violations we identified as part of our audit and taken action to address them earlier,” Grant Parks, a state auditor, said in a report in June.
Highlands has proposed repaying the state through deductions from future state funding, but the bankruptcy court deferred a decision on that proposal until the final hearing in November. For now, the organization can continue operating and use its cash under an interim budget until then.
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Highlands declined to comment on the interim decision.