The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Feb. 21 to reconstitute the governing board of Education Explosion, Inc., which operates Impact Charter School, a Type 2 charter in East Baton Rouge Parish, and appointed seven people recommended by the Louisiana Department of Education effective Feb. 21, 2025.

The action came after BESE staff said the charter board repeatedly failed to produce required records and did not meet generally accepted accounting and public‑meeting standards. Superintendent Brumley told members, “Members must comply with and carry out all applicable federal and state laws and policies governing the school.”

BESE member Miss Mone moved the reconstitution, and Mr. Birkin seconded. The motion named Dr. Peri Daniel, Marguerite Mack, Mickey Matthews, Farisha Perkins, Achiles Williams, Dr. Torrance Williams and Willie Williams Jr. as the new board members; the board voted in a roll call with eight yes votes and three members absent. The department said the appointed members must consent to criminal background checks within one month and that anyone failing a check would be removed.

Bureau staff said BESE opened an investigation after records requests and meetings in February 2025 yielded incomplete responses. According to BESE, the charter board failed to provide meeting notices, board packets, audio/visual recordings, bylaws, incorporation documents, an internal investigation file, an organizational chart, lists of committees, and contracts above $29,999.99 within the three‑day timeline required by the charter contract. BESE staff cited the charter contract provision they called section 2.22.1 and charter oversight provisions in Bulletin 126 and a Louisiana education statute as the legal bases for action.

Speakers at the public hearing sharply disagreed about whether reconstitution was warranted. Eugene Collins, who identified himself as a recent addition to the Impact Charter board, urged BESE not to dismantle a “well run, financially sound, academically strong school that is meeting its mission,” and described the school as a B‑rated campus serving about 450 students. Collins provided budget figures during his remarks, saying the school reported total revenue of $6,600,000, total expenditures of $7,500,000 and employee salaries and benefits of about $4,000,000 (about 53.6 percent of expenditures).

Resident James Finney, a public commenter, challenged the legality and transparency of the charter’s meetings and records responses and urged BESE to take stronger action, saying the charter had been “openly, actively, aggressively hostile to open meetings law, public records law, and the code of ethics.” Dr. Eric Jones, an Impact administrator, asked BESE to clarify how new board members would be chosen and who stakeholders would be in that process and argued the existing volunteers deserved support and clearer procedures.

BESE members cited multiple concerns in the record summary presented at the hearing: alleged failures to maintain active board membership, to implement processes for fiscal oversight, not posting supporting documentation or public meeting links on the school website, and not producing requested documents on three separate occasions. BESE said those failures, in its view, amounted to not meeting generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management and potential violations of the charter contract and Bulletin 126 oversight requirements.

The motion to reconstitute passed by roll call. The board recorded the following votes as read into the record: Mr. Birkin — yes; Miss Champagne — yes; Dr. Clark — yes; Mr. Harris — yes; Mr. Hollis — yes; Miss Holloway — yes; Miss Mallory — yes; Mr. Morris — yes. Members recorded as not present for the roll call included Mr. Appel, Dr. Armstrong and Mr. Castillo. The vote outcome was recorded as approved; BESE staff said the reconstitution takes effect Feb. 21, 2025.

BESE did not revoke the charter at the hearing; the board’s action was to replace the governing board under the cited charter oversight provisions. Several public commenters asked BESE to instead provide technical assistance or other supports rather than reconstitution; BESE members who spoke emphasized the department’s statutory responsibility to protect state and federal education funds and to ensure compliance with contract and oversight rules.

The hearing concluded after the vote. BESE staff said the department will follow up on background checks for appointees and on ensuring the new board is provided appropriate onboarding and information required by law and policy.