MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County’s school board has rejected an application
for what might have been the first charter school in West Virginia.
The
board unanimously voted against the application by the West Virginia Academy
during an hour-long meeting at midday. The neighboring Preston County school
board was to make a similar decision during a 5 p.m. meeting.
The school
has been envisioned as serving students in Monongalia, Marion and Preston
counties. But the application didn’t add up, said Nancy Walker, president of the
Monongalia County school board.
“There still were a lot of unanswered
areas in their application,” Walker said in a telephone interview with
MetroNews.
Walker said individual kept an open mind until time to hear
today’s presentation — then rendering a judgment like a jury might. But she said
board members had a variety of concerns about the project.
Some board
concerns focused on survey results while others questioned whether the charter
school proposal was truly offering a new approach. There was another question
about whether computer equipment would be adequate.
She said the
application did not meet seven specific standards that were reviewed by county
school system administrators.
“There were just some holes in the
application,” Walker said.
She added, “They just didn’t meet the level of
what we felt needed to be happening for a charter school.”
West
Virginia’s legislature approved the establishment of charter schools last year
after months of debate on an omnibus education bill. Gov. Jim Justice signed the
bill into law in June, 2019.
The measure allows for three charter schools
to be opened in the state but requires local approval within 90 days of an
application.
Charter schools would be part of the state’s public
education system and would be given greater latitude in exchange for the
possibility of losing their right to operate if they fail.
The Cardinal
Institute, a West Virginia think tank that supports charter schools, described
the Monongalia County vote as unfortunate.
“At the end of the day,
charter schools are simply about giving an additional option to families who
might be looking for something different or unique for their own child. The
Monongalia County Board of Education’s decision, for now, shuts that opportunity
down for thousands of students in Monongalia and Preston counties,” said Garrett
Ballengee, director of the Cardinal Institute.
“I think this points to a
fatal flaw in the law itself by giving a competitor’s veto to the county school
board with very few options for recourse.”
He said few states have given
local school boards the sole power to veto charter school applicants.
“I
suspect we haven’t seen the end of this battle in Monongalia County, however,
and I have little doubt that the West Virginia Legislature is keeping a very
close eye on how this progresses as it readies itself for the 2021 legislative
session,” Ballengee said.
The Monongalia County Education Association had
opposed the charter school application. Heather Nestor, president of the local
teachers union, expressed concern that a new charter school would have spread
local resources thinner while not actually providing a substantially different
education offering.
“The need for it just isn’t there,” Nestor said. “If
they were offering something that our schools didn’t already offer, I could see
— if it were some kind of magnet school or some type of art school or STEM
school programs that aren’t already in our schools, maybe we could take that
gamble.
“I’m just not sure why you would want to create another school
where you’re not sure how it’s going to be staffed, even the physical location
of the buildings. I feel like taking a gamble with that amount of money at this
point, they just needed to have things more in place if they really want this
school here.”
Walker said it’s possible a charter school application
could meet muster in the future. But, she said, it’s hard to imagine
how.
“I think that possibility’s always out there,” she said. “But I
think there’s going to have to be an exemplary program that is put out that
would meet the needs of all students and all families that may want to apply to
go to a charter school in our county. We have excellent schools in Monongalia
County, and I think it’s going to be hard for someone to come up with something
better than the educational programs we’re currently providing.
“This
application was not able to meet the standards in enough areas for us to
consider it.”