2 More Charter School Applications Approved, 1 Denied
Two new Alabama charter schools are a step closer to opening in the Fall of 2020. Monday morning , the Alabama Public Charter Commission voted on 3 applications for charter schools in Selma, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.
Commissioners approved an application for Capstone Charter school in Tuscaloosa. I3 Academy in Birmingham can also move forward, after the board voted in favor of the charter’s appeal.
Earlier this month commissioners denied an application for Rosa J. Young Academy in Selma. Monday, the board voted to uphold that decision.
“The funding, was the number one reason” explained Logan Searcy, a liaison between the state dept. of education and the charter school commission.
“I think there were some other questions that the reviewer had and the commission had but the number one reason was the funding”.
Funding is one of the two most important factors the board considers when approving or denying a charter application , “the second is whether their education model meets standards” said Searcy.
Despite the board’s overwhelming majority vote in favor of both schools there were still naysayers of the charters.
Ronald Jackson, of the organization Citizens For Better Schools and Sustainable Communities, spoke out against the approval of Birmingham’s I3 Academy. “To approve a school like this when we are under-funded and historically have been so, this was not the bright move for them make”.
The next step for the approved charters, Searcy says, is a 5-year contract outlining the board’s expectations of the school. “Often it can be a misconception that there is no accountability for charter schools and the opposite is true actually they are very accountable and they must meet those standards every year” she explained.
The board will start accepting applications for charter schools opening in 2021, this September. Montgomery’s first charter school is slated to open this Fall.
