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State commission approves charter school after blasting RCS handling of application





Stovall

Stovall

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted 4-3 last Friday to overturn Rutherford County Schools denial of an application for the proposed Rutherford Collegiate Prep charter school.

The commission also had sharp criticism for RCS’ handling of the charter school’s application.

In a virtual specially called meeting, Commissioner Eddie Smith made a motion in favor of approving the application with the commission and its staff ensuring that the charter school meets the standards of a “rigorous pre-opening checklist” prior to its proposed opening.

If the charter school is not deemed ready to open to a projected 470 students in grades K-5 this fall, it is prepared to delay opening until August 2023.

“Rutherford County Schools was not transparent and honestly just manipulated the system to try and cause this application to fail,” said Smith, mentioning a lack of communication regarding BEP funding for the district and hostility during last month’s public comment session.

Several members of the commission said they felt RCS had prolonged the application process by playing “adult games,” according to Commissioner Wendy Tucker. That made meeting the requirements for approval more difficult. Concerns were also brought up about the school’s ability to be an effective learning option for students in need of special education resources.

A news release from RCS Communications Director James Evans following

the vote states that the school district “strongly objects” to the opinions of the board regarding purposeful delay of the charter school application.

Contact was made with the state’s department of education to determine how the application should be interpreted, either as “new start” or “existing charter operator” when the district found several errors within it.

In the release, RCS says Stovall had initially made the recommendation to deny approval of the application on the grounds that it “did not meet or exceed the standards of the state’s scoring rubric,” as documented in her written report.  

In December, both RCS and charter school officials had the opportunity to discuss and defend their claims regarding the application before TPCSC Executive Director Tess Stovall.

RCS, through its own charter school committee, decided that ReThink Forward had failed to meet several of the financial, educational and operational standards outlined in the Tennessee Department of Education’s guidelines.

“The staff found that Rutherford County is a district where a charter school could be successful, and I found clear evidence of a growing district in a growing county that has both short-term and long-term education needs that may be met by a charter school,” said Stovall.

She referred to this process as “the most difficult and complex appeal” she had “ever dealt with” but felt that after looking over the amended charter school application determined that RCP “partially met” the state’s standards.

Parker Stitzer of Hamlin Capital Management, LLC, a New York-based investment advisory firm, said a commitment to initially fund $50 million to clear up financial concerns as well.

“Behind that $50 million, there is another $150 million of private funds from our investors that we would like to put to work subject to the project continuing to grow and perform the way we think they should,” said Stitzer.

According to Stovall RCS’ application review process was “riddled with errors and missteps.”

Each party was allowed to submit a one-page written statement responding to Stovall’s recommendation for the virtual meeting. RCS’ documentation was submitted past the deadline.

Tucker said the intentions of the charter school applicant were “great” but lacking in the area of how it will effectively staff teachers who are licensed to serve students in need of special education programs.

“National data shows that if schools are not prepared on day one to educate kids with disabilities, they don’t do as well for other kids either,” Tucker said.

She pointed out the lack of an “identified school leader,” a non-requirement by state law, to voice the charter school’s vision and provide a clearer plan on how it plans to tackle the issues surrounding this demographic of students.

“It is all of the ‘what’ that is required by federal law and none of the ‘how,’ ”said Tucker, referring to a portion of the charter school application that deals with special populations of children.

“This is all cut and paste, black letter law on special ed. This is not a plan. This is a compliance checklist, and I have a problem with that,” she continued.

The charter school plans to enter its first year with two special education teachers and 11 teaching special education assistants. That number is estimated to grow each year until the school reaches capacity, according to the ReThink Forward’s written statement.

A 30-day reconciliation period began after the commission’s vote. RCS could still serve as the local education agency, according to Stovall.

If an agreement is not reached within that time frame, the commission can step in as the authorizer for the charter school and enter negotiations to create a charter agreement.

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