Updated at 2:15 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
SAN ANTONIO - Just days before the start of the new school year, Bexar County Academy charter school shut its doors for good. But for a group of summer school teachers, the problems didn’t end there.
Several educators who taught over the summer say they have been waiting for a paycheck for more than a month. The now-closed school surrendered its charter to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on July 31, leaving teachers with unanswered questions and unpaid bills.
“We rendered the service, now we want to be paid,” said Laveda Anthony, one of eight teachers still waiting for compensation.
Maria Deleon, another former teacher, said the delay has created financial hardship.
“I literally had to ask for a handout and say, ‘Can you help me with my electric bill?’” she said.
Anthony added, “I had to get assistance for everything. I was even facing eviction.”
Isamar Garcia, who also taught at the charter school this summer, said her family stepped in to help her stay afloat.
“My parents have been helping me, and without them, I don’t know if I would have been able to make it,” Garcia said.
The teachers say communication from the school’s administration has been inconsistent, especially following the school’s closure.
Some were told they’d be paid on July 18 or within two weeks of that date. Others were told that pay would come with their first paycheck of the fall semester — a semester that no longer exists.
“They said July 18th, or possibly two weeks after that,” teacher Jacqueline Reyes said. “Also, they said it might be with our first paycheck when we restarted the new school year.”
When asked if they believed the school’s abrupt closure may have affected their pay, the teachers said they found the timing suspicious.
Anthony said it’s “awfully coincidental.”
“I think it’s a red flag, considering we had been waiting for the pay prior to finding out about the voluntary surrender to TEA,” Reyes said.
In an email sent on Friday after this story aired, the TEA said staff have not been paid because the program is funded through the 21st Century Federal Grant, which reimburses expenses rather than providing funds upfront.
The TEA on Friday released the following statement, in part:
“The charter holder, Academy of America, did not issue paychecks due to claimed insufficient funds, preventing reimbursement requests. To resolve this, Dr. Kevin Demirci, TEA Conservator, plans to use the district’s Foundation School Program (FSP) funds to pay staff and then seek reimbursement from the grant. The Department of Financial Compliance at TEA has confirmed that the FSP funds will be distributed on August 26, 2025, and employees can expect payment soon after, if the conservator can confirm the payment schedule with the charter holder.”
Earlier this week, TEA confirmed it withholds certain funds when a charter school closes, as part of a routine audit. However, the agency stated it does not withhold payroll funds.
Multiple calls to the attorney representing Bexar County Academy’s board of directors have not been returned.
“We’re not asking for a handout,” Deleon said. “We just want to be paid for the work we’ve already done.
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