The Daily Times

The Tennessee State Board of Education upheld Monday the Blount County Board of Education’s denial of a charter to HOPE (Hands-On, Progressive Education) Academy.

The state board, which held its meeting via teleconference, voted unanimously against HOPE Academy’s charter. The state board’s decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Innovation Education Partnership Inc. (IEP) had aspired to open the HOPE Academy in fall 2012. However, the Blount County Board of Education denied the charter school’s applications.

IEP later sought appellate relief from the State Board of Education.

HOPE Academy passed its first appellate hurdle when Tennessee State Treasurer David H. Lillard Jr. ruled Oct. 27 that establishing HOPE Academy would not have a substantial negative fiscal impact on Blount County Schools.

However, IEP failed to advance further.

Tennessee State Board of Education Executive Director Gary Nixon issued a seven-page recommendation Friday that supported Blount County’s decision. State law requires the state board to review the local board’s decision and determine whether the denial was contrary to the “best interests of the pupils, school district or community.”

In Nixon’s recommendation, he cited several problems with the Nov. 29 appeal hearing.

Since Blount County Schools and IEP didn’t meet their respective burdens of proof, Nixon deferred to the initial scoring process. HOPE Academy’s amended application received 41 out of 100 points, and it scored “insufficient” in every category.

Nixon also reviewed HOPE Academy’s amended application to ensure the local board didn’t act arbitrarily in its decision. He also examined the scoring rubric.

The executive director didn’t find any problems with the rubric, or its implementation.

During Monday’s meeting, Nixon said several applications across the state have received scores in the 80s or 90s using the same rubric.

State board Vice Chairman Carolyn Pearre, who represents the state’s 5th Congressional District, asked Nixon about the appeals process. She advised that the applicant and local board didn’t have a clear understanding of the process and questioned whether the parties received guidance.

Rich Haglund, the state Department of Education’s director of charter schools, advised state board members that the necessary information is available on the state’s website.

IEP can also reapply in 2012 to open in 2013, Haglund said.

“Nothing would prevent it, and we’d actually encourage them to do so,” Nixon said.

Dr. Melvin Wright Sr., who represents the 8th Congressional District, then made a motion to approve Nixon’s recommendation, and Teresa Sloyan, who represents the 9th Congressional District, seconded it.

Mike Edwards, who represents the 2nd Congressional District, later asked Nixon about Blount County’s review process. The system’s Charter School Review Committee was composed of seven educators.

State law doesn’t require the involvement of community members when reviewing charter school applications, Haglund said.

Many school employees sent letters to the State Board of Education, Edwards said. In this environment of vocal opposition, he questioned whether school employees could be objective.

“This could explain a score of 40 instead of 80,” Edwards said. He later asked for Nixon’s appraisal of HOPE Academy’s application.

Nixon advised the application had many deficiencies, and he offered to list the areas of needed improvement. No state board member asked to hear Nixon’s list.

Board members later voted unanimously to approve Wright’s motion.

School officials pleased

“We’re very pleased Dr. Nixon and the State Board of Education has validated our position and concerns with our application,” said Director of Schools Rob Britt. He declined to comment further.

“We’re pleased with the unanimous vote,” said Dr. Don McNelly, the school board’s chairman. “HOPE Academy’s application was weak. The state board’s review was the first formal third-party analysis of the application, and they concurred with our findings.”

The application has many deficiencies in its current form, he said. “If IEP is serious about it, I’d encourage them to fix the deficiencies. We told them it was weak, and we highlighted categories and items that needed work. However, it wasn’t materially changed between the initial application and its amended version.”

Blount County Schools is willing to work with the group, McNelly said. “If they’re serious about setting up a suburban charter, it’d be much better to work on the front end with us instead of hitting us with a 460-page application cold. I think it’s professionally appropriate, and it’d set a more favorable working environment.”

School officials would like to discuss HOPE Academy’s plans to serve economically disadvantaged children, in addition to its special education and transportation services, he said. They would also like to see a “more concrete budget.”

Not given a fair shot

IEP was disappointed by Monday’s vote, said spokeswoman Sarah Herron. “We weren’t given a fair shot at the district and state levels. Our application wasn’t read and fully vetted.”

The Blount County Board of Education was hostile to their application, and its scoring ultimately tainted the State Board of Education’s review, she said. “We addressed every point raised in the first denial, even those not relevant to our application. We then had 51 new items in the second denial. We couldn’t address them, because it’s not in the law.”

Legislators need to fix legislative loopholes in future sessions, Herron said. “The state’s going to lose potentially good applicants, because the process isn’t objective.”

The State Board of Education’s decision also has the potential to harm Tennessee’s charter school movement, Herron said. “I think we made the case for an independent, statewide authorizer. We need a process that’s more objective.”

Matt Throckmorton, Tennessee Charter School Association’s executive director, was similarly disappointed in Monday’s decision. “I’ve read a lot of applications in my 15 years. They’re a very solid group, and they had a very solid application. They were at a level to be approved.”

He also agreed that state officials need to improve the charter school process.

Throckmorton made several recommendations: School board training and more defined standards. “We need school board training, because many boards don’t have experience with charter schools. Charters are operated differently, because they’re functionally and operationally different. School boards could benefit from training and a little cross-pollination. Metro Nashville and Memphis have been doing this for years. We also need to clarify standards for both parties, because neither side recognized their responsibilities.”

What’s next?

HOPE Academy’s future is currently unknown.

IEP will decide its future in the coming months, Herron said. Board members intend to move forward, but they’ll be considering several factors, such as upcoming legislation.

The nonprofit also plans to have its application reviewed and scored independently, she said. “We’ve received some interest from legislators, and we’d like to help the legislative process. Not to mention, it’d be nice for our peace of mind.”

Throckmorton also wanted to publicly encourage the group to resubmit their application next year. “It’s a very political process, and I know their feelings are a little raw right now. However, I’d strongly encourage them to try again. They’ve got so many characteristics of a great school.”

You must be logged in to Facebook to comment. If you're not logged in to Facebook, a login window will open when you click "comment". Or you can log in now. You may need to refresh your page after logging in via that link.