Stakeholders in a charter school slated to close this year say a Cobb County school board member who voted to kill the school had a conflict of interest stemming from his ties to a potential competitor.
David Morgan does not deny that he backed a startup charter effort near the school he helped to condemn, but he does deny that he had a conflict of interest in so doing. He was in the majority in the 4-3 decision in September to deny the request by the Imagine International Academy of Mableton to renew its expiring charter.
Morgan's accusers say they were unaware of his role with the other school at the time of the vote. But now that it's come to light, they say he should have recused himself.
"You don't need a law degree to look at that and say that's a conflict of interest," said Jeff Shirley, who has three children attending Imagine Mableton.
The issue arose after Morgan's wife, State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, D Austell, told a local newspaper about her involvement with the proposed STEM Inventors Academy. The startup effort had just won a $50,000 federal grant distributed by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.
Shirley and the principal at Imagine Mableton, James Owmby, allege that David Morgan's vote helped create a more favorable environment for the proposed school by killing off competition in south Cobb.
"I think he had a conflict of interest because it's in the nature of charter schools to compete with each other for parent choice," Owmby said.
David Morgan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he and his wife were involved in the startup effort but that neither of them had anything to gain personally. He said he felt it was his duty as a school board member to arrange meetings with local education officials after a constituent asked him for help with the startup. Neither he nor his wife were leaders in the effort, he said, and neither will have a say in how the $50,000 grant is spent, though the Cobb school system will provide fiduciary oversight of the money.
Morgan noted that the proposed STEM school has a science emphasis -- the acronym stands for "science, technology engineering and math" -- that wouldn't necessarily draw the same students as Imagine Mableton, with its focus on an international baccalaureate.
"It would have been a complementary school," said Morgan, who was once a principal at an Atlanta charter school. "I don't see it as competing."
He added he will recuse himself from any charter vote involving the STEM school.
When Imagine Mableton's charter expires at the end of the school year, about 500 students will have to find a new school. Morgan said he voted against the school's charter because it failed to perform academically. Owmby contends things were improving and wants a re-vote.
Shirley said he hasn't decided where he'll send his kids next year, should the school close as planned. He's considered private school and said the neighborhood public schools are also a good option. But he said he wouldn't rule out sending them to the proposed school backed by Morgan.
"Sometimes, you've got to put aside how you feel about a situation and do what's best for your kids," he said.
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