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REBECCA CATALANELLOThe charter school has until Oct. 10 to boost student enrollment and collect promised financial pledges.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Enrollment is down to 116.
Some financial pledges have not been honored.
Deerwood Academy charter school board members looked at the facts and drew a line in the sand Thursday with a 4-0 vote.
If neither situation improves in the next 14 days, the school will close.
"Oct. 10, Friday, is either the day we celebrate or the day we cry," board president Jonathan Bentley said.
The school was budgeted to open Aug. 11 with 200 students, but came in at 50 less. Since then, student numbers have trickled off:
Enrollment was about 125 on Sept. 2.
It dropped to 120 on Sept. 15.
And on Thursday, new principal Stephen Kane reported, 116.
Thursday's somber discussion drew 26 people and was in stark contrast to a packed Sept. 2 meeting when anything seemed possible with parent involvement.
Faced with possible closure, parents three weeks ago passionately offered almost $17,000 in donations to stay afloat, as well as about $6,100 each month thereafter.
Kane said Thursday that $9,900 had been collected, including only about $4,000 from families that promised monthly contributions.
The publicly funded school gets money from the state depending on how many students are enrolled. The Oct. 10 deadline comes halfway through the state cutoff period for determining official enrollment.
The school has struggled to get back on its feet since an investigation discovered almost $100,000 had been stolen from the school. Former employee Jeffrey Alcantara has been arrested in connection with the scandal.
Bentley said he would know by Monday exactly how many students and how much money would be needed by Oct. 10 in order to stay open. The board set a 5:30 p.m. meeting for Oct. 9.