New city, no school, no problem … for Brookhaven maybe
The Brookhaven Innovation Academy, a novel city-based charter school proposal that was shot down by the State Charter Schools Commission last year, is back on the agenda for approval on Aug. 26.
New cities like Brookhaven, in DeKalb County, cannot by law have their own school districts, despite the oft-expressed concerns of parents about the quality of existing school systems. So this charter route may be the next best thing. The petitioners, including Mayor Rebecca Chase Williams and City Councilman Bates Mattison, tried to address many of the Commission’s concerns, expanding the governing board to include more than just city officials and eliminating a statewide virtual education component. The school would be open to Atlantans who live beyond Brookhaven, as long as they could get their kids there.
At a hearing last month, the petitioners touted Brookhaven’s access by MARTA. Expanding attendance beyond DeKalb is a prerequisite for a state charter.
After that July 24 hearing, though, a vetting committee sent the petitioners a letter saying concerns remained: there were still too many city officials on the board and not enough detail about collaboration with the Hispanic community, which is expected to send many students to the school, if it opens. The committee also wanted details about teacher staffing and benefits and about the school finance chief’s role.
Petitioners are vowing to address the concerns, including a rollback of city representation to a maximum of two officials on the board from the current limit of five, by the Aug. 17 deadline. This despite a reported commitment of $3 million by the city development authority for a building the school would occupy.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
