Divisive Charter School Bill Heads To Education Subcommittee Tomorrow

Image Credit: Invictus Charter School – Facebook / Hillsdale College

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Representative Mark White (R-Memphis-District 83) is the sponsor of a bill heading to the Education Instruction Subcommittee tomorrow that would allow charter schools to bypass the input of parents via their elected school boards and apply directly to the State Charter School Commission instead. 

The commission recently approved the application of Rutherford Collegiate Prep against the wishes of local parents and the Rutherford County School Board.

House Bill 2833 (HB2833) and companion Senate Bill 2168 (SB2168), sponsored by Senator John Stevens (R-Huntingdon-District 24) would also allow state colleges and universities seeking to open a charter school (or convert a public school to a public charter school) to apply to the commission without eliciting community favor. 

Another worrisome part of the bill deals with the ability of charter schools to take over vacant or otherwise unused public school buildings and property which are funded by taxpayers.

Jamie Farough, school board member of zone 7 in Wilson County, outlined her concerns with the bill in a Facebook post last night.

“Among my many concerns is one we are currently facing. Wilson County is facing UNPRECEDENTED growth. We have had 1,200 new students this year. This is more than the number in our largest elementary school. Of those, 150 were in the last month. There is no sign of this slowing down, especially with the completion of highway 109 which is now welcoming to new developments. We still have two schools out of commission from the March 2020 tornado. We expect to hit 20,000 students in the next few months.

Our school board has recently approved two pieces of property to move forward to our county commission for funding. This would be for a total of 4 desperately needed new schools. These will be taxpayer funded. We are working hard to be fiscally responsible while making decisions that will serve our students best.

You can imagine how distressing it is to think a charter school can not only take over one of our existing schools but take over one we are working so hard to obtain. This is unconscionable. This is NOT what is in the best interest of Wilson County students or the students of Tennessee.” 

*** Click Here to Support Conservative Journalism in Tennessee. We can’t cover stories like this without your support!***

Another facet of the bill makes it easier for an existing charter school to replicate itself once they have been in operation for one school year. The charter school will be allowed to apply for replication directly to the commission if subsequent charters will utilize the same academic focus. 

Governor Bill Lee recently announced his intention to partner with Hillsdale College in Michigan in creating 50-100 new schools. This replication process would no doubt aid in that endeavor. Hillsdale has already filed applications in several counties for “classical” charter schools with plans to open in 2023.

The companion to House Bill 2833, Senate Bill 2168, heads to the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.