Probably more important as an aspect of the story is that the Urban Community Leadership Academy was a charter school which was described as a failed experiment by the 2014 report by the Network of Public Education due to endemic patterns of fraud and scamming systematic within charter schools. used to make a profit off educating children. The Urban Community Leadership Academy is likely one such school, or I should say it was. It closed in 2012.

An audit by the Missouri State Auditor found after the school had been notified by their sponsor, the University of Central Missouri, that they were intending to allow their sponsorship to lapse, that $117,980 in school funds was unaccounted for. Even under subpoena, the school's business manager could not find receipts to justify the claim purchases.