Some 200 sixth and seventh graders arrived Monday at a new Riverdale charter school for what was supposed to be the first day of classes. Instead, they were turned away, caught up in bureaucratic finger-pointing that for now could keep the school’s doors closed.
School officials told parents classes were canceled because the fire marshal warned them not to open Utopian Academy for the Arts because they didn’t have the proper license.
The holdup only served to heighten frustrations and tensions for parents and school leaders, who’ve tried for several years to open the school in Clayton County. “This is part and parcel of what goes on in Clayton,” said parent Beth Antoine, who has lived in Clayton 30 years. “It’s a travesty. The school board doesn’t want a charter school. People are opposed to innovation happening in the county.”
Supporters of traditional schools believe charter school siphon away much needed money. The Clayton school board repeatedly rebuffed an application for Utopian Academy, but last fall the state approved it, a move Utopian Academy officials say they thought cleared the way.
It turned out, it did not.
Though Utopian is not required by the state to have a business license, one is required by the city of Riverdale. City attorney L’Erin Barnes Monday said the proper license hasn’t been issued because there’s a dispute with the lease.
The lease is held by the Downtown Development Authority, but the building is owned by the Clayton school system. Utopian officials believe they have a valid lease signed by the building’s landlord. A school system spokesman declined to discuss the matter, citing legal issues surrounding the lease.
Dozens of angry parents and staff milled outside the school for more than an hour Monday morning, while students, in new uniforms and eager to get on with the first day of school, expressed disappointment about not being able to attend classes.
“I took the day off work. Now I’ve got to take off again to makes sure he’s somewhere,” said Kimberly Payne, who accompanied her sixth-grade son Kimon. In the background, parents and staff chanted the school’s mantra: “Hard work works!”
Some progress had been made Monday afternoon. Riverdale said it would drop its requirement for a business license, deferring to the state laws.
It could be days before Utopian students step inside their school as county school officials and Riverdale government officials work to fast-track a resolution.
Meanwhile, the head of the state charter schools commission called Utopian’s predicament “highly unusual.”
“From our perspective, Utopian has met all the requirements to operate as a public school in Georgia,” said Bonnie Holliday, executive director of the state charter schools Commission. “They have a certificate of occupancy, and they have passed the Georgia Department of Education facility’s inspection within the last couple of months.”
The head of an bipartisan education group called StudentsFirst weighed into the fray.
“Clayton County needs to stop playing high-stakes games and let their kids get the education they deserve,” state director Bradford Swann said. “Frankly, the thought that Clayton, with its 55 percent graduation rate, would not want options on the table for their students is appalling. It’s deeply concerning, and absolutely unacceptable that they would disrupt the first school day for hundreds of kids trying to attend a state-approved public charter school.”
Utopian parents and staff were slated to go before the school board Monday night to try to get the school board to sign a lease agreement directly with the school, said Utopian Academy executive director Artesius Miller.
According to its website, Utopian Academy was founded to serve the educational needs for Clayton County’s most “at-risk” population, African American and Latino teenage males. However, with changes in federal education laws, the school revised its enrollment plan to include female students.
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