A nationally acclaimed Alpharetta charter school is at risk of having of its doors closed in June after it submitted an eight-year renewal petition on Monday, and the Fulton County school superintendent recommended it be denied.
Fulton Science Academy Middle School was asked to accept a three-year contract by Superintendent Robert Avossa, which would have put the school on the same renewal cycle with Fulton Sunshine Academy and Fulton Science Academy High School. Avossa explained this was necessary because the three schools have entered into an $18 million loan agreement to build a shared campus and have mutual financial obligations.
On Tuesday night, the Fulton school board will vote on the superintendent's recommendation.
“The Fulton Science Academy governance team has not been willing to meet our charter petition standards,"Avossa said. "As holders of the public trust we can't approve a petition that goes against our high standards and may not be in the best interest long term of both our students and our taxpayers."
School officials said they need a longer contract to attract teachers and students to the school and aid in business operations, and added the school is deserving because of its scholastic record.
The charter school recently won national recognition as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education for its standardized test achievements.
Ali Ozer, executive director for Fulton Science Academy Middle School, said while the school has amended its contract proposal to the district it still is insistent on an eight-year contract.
"This is what FSA deserves," Ozer said. “If they stick to this, we are not in agreement.”
John Trainor, who has two sons who attend the school, said he was supportive of the longer deal.
“If you start a brand new charter school, you get a contract with five years,” Trainor said. “Why would you take it below the standard? It hurts the ability to recruit teachers. It hurts the ability to plan. You have a successful school for 10 years and you want to take them down to a three [year contract]. It doesn’t make sense.”
If the Fulton school board votes no, the charter school would have to appeal to the state Department of Education to remain open after its contract expires on June 30. If the state Board of Education approves it as a state charter school, Fulton Science Academy Middle School's funding still would be cut in half because it would lose its local share of tax dollars for education.
If the state does not offer a contract to the school to continue, students would have to return to their neighborhood schools. Students would be sent to 16 Fulton middle schools, with some campuses getting as few as one student and others up to 100, the superintendent said.
"I'm saddened that the actions of the Fulton Science Academy board have led to this," Avossa said.
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