Charter school group appeals to state at public hearing

The Tennessee State Board of Education held an appeal hearing last week in Robertson County for the Exalt Academy of Springfield, which has had its application for a charter school denied twice by the local Board of Education.

More than 65 people attended the Sept. 24 hearing, filling an overflow room in addition to the board room at the district’s central office, speaking either in support of the school board’s application denial, or on behalf of Exalt Education, the Arkansas-based company that worked with a local steering committee that submitted the charter application.

“Please help us, you’re our last hope,” Darrell Woodard, an Exalt Academy steering committee and board member said. “We’ve just have been getting Band-Aids. This problem needs a surgery.”

Woodard said he wanted to help open a charter school and work with the school district to help educate Springfield’s young people that would bring them up to a level playing field academically.

Gary Nixon, executive director of the state board and Tess Stovall, coordinator of charter school accountability and policy for the state, attended the hearing, listening to appeals from each side.

To show support for the school district’s stance, several administrators spoke against the charter application, including Linda Cash, assistant director of schools; Chris Causey, supervisor of accountability; Jennifer Cox, instructional facilitator for English language learners; Jennifer Darden; supervisor of special education; and, Grant Bell, principal of Springfield Middle School.

Robertson County Schools Director Mike Davis said Board of Education attorney Chuck Cagle requested reading into the record a letter he had addressed to Nixon.

Cagle said in his letter that any charter school’s enrollment would need to reflect the demographics of the district as a whole.

“We are undergoing a review by the Department of Justice on re-aligning and re-designing all of our school districts, based on demographic criteria that makes up our school system,” Davis added. “Any charter school that opens in Robertson County must meet the terms of the desegregation agreement.”

Robertson County Mayor Howard Bradley, who said he was not there to speak in favor or in opposition to the charter application, appealed to the state to consider two factors, the first being the school district’s commitment to leveling the playing field for students with the construction of a new elementary school.

“Robertson County Schools will be looking next year at a significance increase in the need for revenue, even without the charter being approved,” Bradley said.

The county mayor said the by the end of the current school year, the county is projected to be under the $3 million fund balance for schools. With the cost of implementing a charter school, Bradley said would equate to 10-cents on the county’s property tax rate.

John Wyatt, who said he moved into Robertson County a couple of years ago, said in the course of searching for a home, realtors told him not to purchase a house in Springfield, due to the education system. He and his wife did anyway, and currently live in the downtown historic district.

“This town is going under, because that problem has not been addressed,” Wyatt said. “This could be Ferguson, if something isn’t done soon.”

Wyatt said the school board members need to get a better picture of what is really going on in the community. He suggested instead of spending $17 million on a new elementary school, the board could have put money into renovating the Bransford Youth Center.

“We love it here and we want to fight for it,” Wyatt said.

Raymond Francis, founder of the Springfield Charter Steering Committee that formed in 2013, said the students in south central Springfield do not have justice, while pointing to the front row of members of the Robertson County Board of Education.

“On the school board, you look at them, there’s not one minority,” Francis said. “Yet 70-percent of the students that go to school in Springfield are minority. The people in south central Springfield don’t even have a representative. Their school board rep lives in the most elite subdivision of Robertson County.”

Francis also said he felt the people in south central Springfield lacked a voice of representation on the decision to deny the charter application.

“Not a one of them is of color,” Francis said of the school district’s review committee. “Not a one of them is a minority. And not a one of them is from south central Springfield.”

Walt Hannabass appealed to the state to give Springfield students hope by approving Exalt Education to oversee the charter school.

“This isn’t about my children,” Hannabass said. “My children graduated from here and have done very well. This is about a specific segment of our system that needs help.”

Hannabass said he feels the county has a resistance to change, but he’s hopeful the state will approve the charter.

Stephanie Mason, supervisor of federal programs for Robertson County Schools, chaired the committee that evaluated the application and told state officials the review committee found many inconsistencies in the application submitted by Exalt Academy.

“Reviewing a high quality charter application should not be a task of seek-and-find,” Mason said. “There should be a direct line between the plan, the narratives and the budget. The readers should not struggle to make the pieces fit, but this team did.”

Mason said the review committee found the application lacking in all three areas of academic, operational and financial. She appealed to the state board to uphold the local Board of Education’s denial of the application.

Ben Lindquist, CEO of Exalt Education, addressed state officials stating that the application denial from Robertson County follows a clear pattern of failure in meeting the needs of a large, high poverty student population in south central Springfield.

“To break this cycle of failure, a unique educational option is needed for Springfield students,” Lindquist said.

After the first application was denied, Lindquist said adjustments were made to the application and feels there is no merit for denial in the criteria met by the charter group.

In addition to last week’s hearing, Nixon told the audience that a committee made up of qualified individuals will conduct a review of the application, independently rating it according to the state’s scoring rubric.

The committee will also interview the applicant to assess their capacity to operate the proposed school, he said.

“The committee will then prepare a report, which I will use with my recommendation to the state board of education,” Nixon said. “The state board will meet to review the findings of this hearing and the review committee’s report.”

If the board finds the local board’s decision was contrary to the best interest of the pupil, the school district or the community, the board will remand the decision to the local board with written instructions for approval of the charter, according to Nixon.

The board is scheduled to make a decision on the Exalt Academy of Springfield appeal at its regular meeting scheduled for Oct. 31 in Nashville.

Charter timeline

April 1 – Arkansas-based Exalt Education, partnered with charter steering committee, filed application to open charter school in Springfield

June 24 – Robertson BOE denies application for charter school

Aug. 25 - Robertson County Board of Education’s second denial of application based upon merits

Sept. 4 - Appeal by Exalt Education is received by the Tennessee State Board of Education

Sept. 24 – Public hearing by state board

Oct. 31 – Tennessee State Board of Education to make final decision on charter school