Tonight was to be the night when families and staff at a financially troubled Atlanta charter school would learn whether their school would stay open. But that decision has been postponed, school officials said.

The board of the school— Latin Academy, a south Atlanta middle school with more than 200 students — has said past financial mismanagement and the alleged theft of about $600,000 drained the school's finances. Police have named the school's founder a suspect in connection with the theft. Under his leadership, the school also took out $600,000 in loans without the board's authorization, according to school legal and financial records.

The board was set to vote Thursday night on whether to close the school at the end of this school year. They considered closure last month, but put that decision on hold, giving families and staff a month to come up with a plan to raise the $500,000-$600,000 board members said was needed to keep the school open.

Now that meeting has been postponed until later this month, to give board members more time to address new information, school officials said.

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