# Gateway STEM Academy *A Burnsville charter school that entered a December 2023 Assurance of Discontinuance with the Minnesota Attorney General over school funds paid to companies tied to its own leadership.* Gateway STEM Academy is a charter school in [[Burnsville]], [[Minnesota]]. On December 8, 2023, it entered an [[Assurance of Discontinuance with Gateway STEM Academy|Assurance of Discontinuance]] with the [[Minnesota Attorney General]].[^1] The Attorney General found that nearly $300,000 in school funds had gone to companies connected to the school's own leadership. Two of those payments were $173,602.65 and $117,255, each to a company headed by a board member.[^1] The office found that the transactions "were not approved, much less discussed, by Gateway's board."[^1] Federal school data for the 2024–25 school year still lists the school. That record shows 121 students in grades K–8, of whom 111 were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.[^2] The pack documents the Attorney General's finding and these enrollment counts. It does not establish any terms of the Assurance beyond the figures and finding stated here, and it does not establish whether the funds were recovered.[^1][^2] ## Who The finding was issued by the [[Minnesota Attorney General]]'s office. The project's dossier classes the Assurance as an agency finding and settlement.[^1] The project's at-issue record summarizes the finding as stating that the school's founder directed the payments.[^1] The two dossier notes on the release identify the recipients of the two itemized payments as companies headed by two board members. The at-issue record instead describes the recipients as companies owned by three of the school's directors and officers.[^1] According to the [[Star Tribune]]'s report on the settlement, the school's authorizer was Pillsbury United Communities.[^3] ## What An Assurance of Discontinuance is the instrument by which the Attorney General resolved the matter with the school.[^1] The Attorney General found that payments from school funds went to companies headed by members of the school's board. The office also found that the board neither approved nor discussed those transactions.[^1] ## When - December 8, 2023: the Attorney General announced the Assurance of Discontinuance.[^1] - 2024–25 school year: federal school data records the school's enrollment and lunch-eligibility counts given below.[^2] ## Where The school is in Burnsville.[^1] The project files it in its Dakota County package. The National Center for Education Statistics lists it under district ID 2700445 and school ID 270044505138.[^2] ## How much - In total, the Attorney General found that nearly $300,000 in school funds went to companies tied to the school's leadership.[^1] - One board member's company received $173,602.65, and another board member's company received $117,255.[^1] Together, those two itemized payments come to $290,857.65.[^1] ## How many - Students enrolled, 2024–25: 121, in grades K–8.[^2] - Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 2024–25: 111, about 92 percent of enrollment.[^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record holds two entries on the school. Both are drawn from its Dakota County claims exposure matrix dated September 2, 2026.[^1][^2] The first entry is ranked 47 and dated December 8, 2023. It records the Attorney General's finding and the two itemized payments.[^1] The project pairs this entry with a May 2026 White House presidential action on the integrity of the financial system.[^4] The second entry is ranked 50 and dated 2024. It records the school's 2024–25 enrollment and lunch-eligibility counts.[^2] The project pairs this entry with a March 2025 White House presidential action on protecting federal funds against fraud, waste and abuse.[^5] These pairings are the project's own. The pack does not show that either presidential action refers to the school.[^4][^5] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Attorney General, *Assurance of Discontinuance with Gateway STEM Academy* (Dec. 8, 2023) — finding of nearly $300,000 in school funds paid to companies tied to school leadership; $173,602.65 and $117,255 to companies headed by two board members; transactions "not approved, much less discussed, by Gateway's board." https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2023/12/08_GatewaySTEMAcademy.asp [^2]: National Center for Education Statistics, *Gateway STEM Academy school detail, 2024–25* — 121 students, grades K–8; 111 eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; district and school identifiers. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=2700445&ID=270044505138 [^3]: Star Tribune, *report on the Attorney General's settlement with Gateway STEM Academy, Burnsville* (Dec. 2023) — identifies the school's authorizer as Pillsbury United Communities. https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-attorney-general-keith-ellison-gateway-stem-academy-burnsville-settle-alleged-misuse-funds/600326049 [^4]: The White House, *presidential action on restoring integrity to America's financial system* (May 2026) — cited only as the project's at-issue anchor for entry AI-Dakota-047. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/ [^5]: The White House, *presidential action on protecting America's bank account against fraud, waste and abuse* (March 2025) — cited only as the project's at-issue anchor for entry AI-Dakota-050. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/