CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The lines were clearly divided Friday morning during a public hearing on the application of American Classical Academy Montgomery (ACAM) to open a local charter school.
The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, ACAM board members and representatives of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System met in the CMCSS School Board room to air the pros and cons of the charter school application.
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ACAM had applied to open a charter school here, and they were rejected by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board. The schools’ organizers appealed the decision to the state.
Opponents speak out
Prior to Friday’s hearing, a group of community members and politicians held a news conference to raise objections to using public funds for private charter schools.
“Montgomery County has great schools,” said Stephanie Outlaw, a local teacher speaking on behalf of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Association. “We don’t need charter schools.”
Outlaw said one of the biggest issues she has is how charter schools will be funded. “We do not need to give the public funding for our schools at the local level to these private entities – the charter schools coming from somewhere else. We need to keep the funding here for our schools,” she said.
“We should be discussing teacher pay, we should be here discussing issues regarding teacher retention. We shouldn’t be here discussing public money going to private entities that aren’t from this community right here,” she said.
Loretta A. Williamson-Morris, a representative of the Clarksville NAACP, said the state should respect the local decision. “They have already voted against public charter schools,” she said. “They are trying to come in here and override, and that is government overreach.”
Ronnie Glynn, a candidate for state House District 67, addressed comments made by the president of Hillsdale College, which is backing the ACA charter schools being proposed in Tennessee.
“If someone came into your house and called you dumb or called your family dumb, would you let them back in?” he said.
Odessa Kelly, candidate for Tennessee 7th Congressional District, put things in more forceful terms. “I’m tired of the charter school charlatans steamrolling their way through our public schools,” she said.
When asked by Clarksville Now if there were any charter school proposals that could be supported by local school leaders, School Board member Jimmie Garland, speaking for himself, said no. He said CMCSS has excellent schools and they need support, not alternatives that draw resources away from public schools.
Reasons for denial
During the public hearing, the state commission heard from both CMCSS and ACAM on the issues regarding the application.
Elizabeth Vincent, director of continuous improvement for CMCSS, explained why the charter school application was denied twice.
Vincent said the CMCSS Charter School Review Committee initially denied the application because of several issues, including concerns about their approach to disabled students, a lack of demonstrated community support, a lack of compelling data to show the effectiveness of the classical education model, concerns about proposed governance structure, school waiver requests, and concerns about underestimating operating costs as well as a lack of contingency planning for operations.
Vincent said that with the lack of a clear facilities plan, and with 19 requested waivers of state laws, the review committee was not comfortable approving the application.
Recent changes for ACAM
Richard Kaser, an ACAM board member, highlighted key performance indicators for the charter school, and how the school could be as asset to Clarksville. ACAM would save the district $50 million from having to build another school, Kaser said.
Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall pointed out that none of the current ACAM board members were listed on the amended application that was denied by the local Charter School Review Committee.
Richard Highland, an attorney for ACAM, said the school has continued to work on the issues pointed out by the committee.
Stovall asked Vincent if CMCSS had been notified of any change to the board structure or government.
“No we were not,” Vincent said.
Joel Schellhammer, executive director for ACAM, told Stovall a study was done to see if Clarksville would be an appropriate location for a charter school. He said of the 20 responses the charter school administration received, 14 of those were in favor of a charter school, which was consistent with the surveys conducted by the school.
He said the matter of not having a facility has been resolved. “We are really happy to announce that a site has been identified in Clarksville-Montgomery. … (It is) a 60,000-square-foot facility in Clarksville that is more than sufficient for our academic programming, and a contract has been signed to a contractor who is licensed to complete the work in Tennessee.”
Supporters speak up
During a public comments portion, several speakers spoke up in favor of the ACAM charter school.
Jasmine Ledbetter, mother of a pre-K student and a graduate student of Middle College at Austin Peay State University, said she needed an alternative option for her education.
“We want our kids in this community to have this option,” Ledbetter said.
Camilla Green said she and her husband, Congressman Mark Green, have lived here for 20 years and raised both of their children in local schools.
“We know firsthand how important our schools and our teachers are,” she said, pointing out that when Mark Green was a state senator he authored the Teacher’s Bill of Rights.
“This American Classical Academy Montgomery would give parents in the community an additional excellent opportunity to ensure that their children receive a rigorous classical education that is based in the liberal arts.”
She pointed out that charter schools operate in other cities in Tennessee. “Why should a family’s zip code determine if they get a choice in education or not?”
What’s next
The meeting to make the final decision will be held in Nashville at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 at the Tennessee Charter School Center, 1033 Demonbreun St., Suite 300.
The commission will continue to accept written public comments until 1 p.m. on Sept. 23.
Correction: The quotes attributed to Camilla Green were not correct. They have been updated. Also, the Greens have lived in Montgomery County for 20 years.
Chris Smith contributed to this report.