Student discipline, other issues, could close Macon charter school

The Georgia Board of Education voted Friday to hold a hearing on closing the Macon Charter Academy in Bibb County.

The school of about 500 students was placed on probation in the fall, and conditions worsened afterward, according to the Georgia Department of Education. The school failed to adequately train staff, completely install computer labs and deal with disciplinary incidents.

“In the ten classrooms observed by GaDOE on March 15, 2016, the majority of students were observed off-task and disengaged without re-direction,” says one report by the Georgia Department of Education. “Students were observed obstructing class, including one student throwing a chair at another student.”

The school gets taxpayer dollars to educate students under a charter from the Bibb County School District. School district charter schools sign contracts with both the district and the state. The state board will hold the termination hearing Aug. 18.