MONROE, N.C. — Two North Carolina state senators want to use their power as lawmakers to force the North Carolina State Board of Education to change a decision it's made about a charter school.
Senate Bill 230 would reverse the board’s decision to deny the 2022 Acceleration Charter School Application for American Leadership Academy-Monroe.
The NCSBE is responsible for approving or rejecting charter school applications. State school board members that denied its opening cited having a problem with the for-profit company that would manage it called Charter One, LLC.
In a previous NCSBE meeting, some board members claimed school managed by Charter One has rapid expansion with no solid proof of helping North Carolina students.
The Executive Director of the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools said the state board was highly critical of ALA Monroe's relationship with Charter One.
"It seems that some of the State Board of Education members are really interested in paying really, really close attention to contracts, especially where charter schools are concerned," Rhonda Dillingham, NC Association for Public Charter School's Executive Director, said.
North Carolina State Senators Todd Johnson and David Craven, both of who represent districts covering Union County, are Senate Bill 230’s primary sponsors.
They want the board’s decisions overturned so the school can open in the 2024 school year.
"I was frankly, astonished when I read it," Heather Koons, Public Schools First NC's Communications Director, said about reading the bill.
She said there are pressing questions about motives.
"Basically, they didn't like the decision, and then these two legislators just decided to override that decision and I think a really important question is why?" Koons asked.
WCNC Charlotte attempted to ask the lawmakers question ourselves, but they did not answer a request for an interview.
Charter One would only answer our questions via email citing a busy schedule. Regarding the bill, a spokesperson said they’re in full support and worked in conjunction with the board of directors for ALA Monroe and the two lawmakers to make the bill possible.
"Charter One fully supports SB230 and is appreciative of Senators Johnson and Craven's sponsorship of the bill," a Charter One spokesperson said. “As an organization that seeks to provide parents with more school choice, we believe that schools should be offered to communities-based citizens' will, free from political agendas."
In an op-ed for the Carolina Journal, Michael Way, the southeast division president for Charter One, also cited political reasons why the charter application was denied.
Without providing proof or names, Way was likely referencing the no-votes for the charter by NCSBE members who were appointees of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The lawmakers who filed the bill are both Republicans.
The NCSBE Votes
In two separate votes, one in December and another in January, the NCSBE voted against the recommendation of the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board to approve the charter.
ALA Monroe applied to become a charter school on an accelerated timeline to open in the 2023 school year.
ALA Monroe's nonprofit board of directors would work in conjunction with Charter One, LLC a for-profit company.
A charter school board of directors is granted permission to open a charter school in NC. The board of directors answers to the state board regarding the governance and oversight of the school including both financial and academic performance.
Charter One, an education management organization, would operate the school and hire the school's executive director in charge.
The nonprofit board of directors would approve the executive director of the school, but that person would be a Charter One employee.
All teachers, staff aides, and other employees of the charter school would be employed by the board of directors.
"This is a very, very rapid expansion of charter schools in North Carolina, and with large numbers of students affected, and this is another quick opening," one board member said prior to the December vote.
The board member was referencing Charter One's footprint of operating other charter schools. At the time of its application, Charter One operated sixteen schools in Arizona, one school in Nevada, three schools in South Carolina, and five schools in North Carolina.
"And I have concerns that we don't really know enough about the academic performance in these schools to move forward with another one," the board member added.
At the time of the application, there was no publicly available recent school performance data for the NC schools Charter One managed.
Due to COVID-19, North Carolina schools didn't release school performance data until the 2021-22 school year. Prior to this, the last time data was available was for the 2018–19 school year.
The December vote by the NCSBE failed and went back for further consideration by the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board.
It was brought up again in a January meeting, again with a recommended approval by the NC Charter School Advisory Board.
This time as a concession, another charter school proposed in NC that would be operated by Charter One withdrew its application.
After a presentation about the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board addressing concerns the board had with Charter One, there was little discussion from the state board members.
The second NCSBE vote failed again and ultimately rejected ALA Monroe's application for operation.
The precedent
"North Carolina has an established process for approving charter schools. And the American Leadership Academy went through that process and their application was declined," Koon said. "And so it's really unprecedented that legislators would then try to override a decision that went through that established process."
Dillingham, an advocate for public charters, said the lawmakers' attempt to have the charter approved is being watched by the state education advocates.
"Whenever our one authorizer denies a school, then it can be very frustrating and upsetting for a lot of people," Dillingham said. "But we do have a process in place in our state and until the law changes and that process changes, then I think we need to stay within the bounds of the way schools are currently authorized."
But Dillingham emphasized her shock that the NCSBE voted twice to go against the recommendations from the NC Charter School Advisory Board.
"It is upsetting and frustrating when there is evidence and proof that there is demand and interest in having the school in the area," Dillingham said. "We're advocates for Parents Choice, that's what I do. And so to deny parents a choice that clearly is a need in the area is unfair."
Other charter school advocates WCNC Charlotte spoke to said some NCSBE members have a fundamental aversion to for-profit companies' involvement in running charter schools.
Koon said for good reason.
"There's been reporting out of Arizona, where this charter company has a number of schools, that the founder of this particular charter management program has profited in the millions of dollars, quite substantially from his dealings with this charter school," Koon said.
Koon is referencing an investigation by the Arizona Republic regarding Glenn Way, a founder of the American Leadership Academy. An investigation by the Arizona Republic revealed through ALA and its related companies, Way made about $37 million by building and operating Arizona charter schools.
Koon also cited the most recently released academic date of one of the schools Charter One operates now.
"American Leadership Academy-Coastal, that has been in place for a few years now," Koon said. "They have received D performance grades in the past three reporting years, and they have never met growth."
At the time of application, schools listed that Charter One managed were American Leadership Academy-Coastal in Wilmington, Bonnie Cone Classical Academy in Huntersville, and Aristotle Preparatory Academy in Charlotte.
The application said Charter One took over the schools in 2021, 2019, and 2020 respectively.
According to 2021-22 school performance data, two of the schools received D grades, two had not met growth and two were on NC's list of continually low-performing charter schools.
"Charter One expanded its footprint in the southeast during a global pandemic," a spokesperson from the group said. "Based on our high performance and proven track record with other clients, we were retained by our southeast clients to take already low-performing schools and help them achieve improved academic performance and operations. With each of these acquisitions, we've done just that and continue to make new performance improvements each year."
Senate Bill 233 is currently waiting to be heard by a senate committee.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.