Among the first charter schools to open in Tennessee, Memphis Academy of Health Sciences Middle and High Schools will close at the end of the school year.
Shelby County Schools authorizes the two charter schools and the board voted to close them Wednesday evening, about a month after a state comptroller’s report detailed how now former school officials stole nearly $400,000 from the charter operator since July 2015.
The school district sent notice of the intended revocation to the charter operator a week after the comptroller’s report was publicized.
State law and board policy allows a charter to be revoked for material violations of a charter agreement and failure to “meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management,” the district outlined in a presentation.
Charter school: Memphis charter school officials stole $400,000 for Vegas trips, lobster and more, comptroller says
Board members Stephanie Love, Althea Greene, Joyce Dorse-Coleman, Miska Clay Bibbs and Michelle McKissack voted to revoke the charter, and board member Kevin Woods abstained.
“We wouldn’t be here today if integrity was in place by those individuals,” Greene said, speaking about the former employees. “..It is the desire of this board to ensure that every dollar allocated is used for the success of students. That’s why we sit here.”
The charter’s new executive director, a board member and legal counsel who were brought in to conduct an internal investigation were present Wednesday at the meeting.
The three agreed in conversations with board members the actions by the former employees were “egregious” and “serious.”
“Revoking these charters today, prior to doing any work, and prior to considering all of the information the office tried to share with you, because this is our first chance to speak with anyone about this issue, it would only exacerbate the harm already done,” said MAHS attorney Sharon Loy. “That punishment would be most acutely felt by the students, their families, the neighborhood and staff. Not the volunteer board.”
While understanding of the impact of the closure, Love said she took issue with the fact that the district wasn’t made aware of the issues the charter knew about. The comptroller’s report, she said, put SCS in an “embarrassing position.”
“What could have happened,” Love said, “was once this was found out, or once things took place, someone from that board or someone from that school should have notified Shelby County Schools, to let the charter office know, exactly what was taking place, what the corrective action plan would be, and how they were going to ensure that this would not happen again.”
The board did not vote to revoke the charter for Memphis Stem Academy Wednesday night. The district had recommended the school’s closure because the charter was out of compliance for enrolling more students than SCS said it was approved for.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at [email protected] or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @LDTestino
