By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
In anticipation of today’s decision by the N.C. State Board of Education to approve or reject the Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School, board members of the proposed school held two public information sessions over the past week about their plans.
“Wherever you are on the issue, we want what is best for our kids,†said Angela Lee, the lead applicant for the school.
The state board of education’s leadership and innovation committee met Wednesday, and after little discussion decided to recommend to the state board approval of the school’s application.
While turnout at the first information session on Feb.23, at Maple View Agricultural Educational Center, was low, the majority of those who attended were not parents of prospective students, but opponents of the school.
Since first submitting its application to the state, the charter school has been the subject of intense scrutiny and opposition, not just from the public but also from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education and the local chapter of the NAACP.
Both the NAACP and the school board have expressed concerns with the possibility of the charter school taking away minority students from the public school system and lowering diversity rates.
“Our minority numbers are not huge, and if this comes to fruition it could significantly decrease our numbers as far as minority students,†Superintendent Tom Forcella said at a recent school board meeting.
The school board has also written letters to the state board disputing claims and data used in the charter school’s application regarding overcrowding and progress made in closing the achievement gap.
Lee said that while she and the charter school board members are longtime members of the community who understand that the district schools are capable of producing excellent students, they believe parents should have a choice in educating their kids.
“We want to be able to provide a second option for parents who think their kids would succeed better in a charter school,†Lee said.
School board Chair Mia Burroughs attended the Feb. 23 information session and asked Lee a number of questions, including who would be allowed to attend and where the school would be located.
Lee said the school would accept applications from any student but would focus on attracting children who were falling behind in the district school system.
“We will be targeting students who are underachieving, but we will help all students, even those who come in doing quite well,†Lee said. “We hope to capture students from all learning backgrounds.â€
If approved, the charter school would open in August 2012 for 480 students in grades K-5 and would eventually expand to K-8, serving more than 700 students.
As far as the location of the school, Lee declined to give an exact address.
Another contentious point is the charter school management company Lee has decided to partner with.
National Heritage Academies (NHA) is a for-profit charter management group based in Michigan that manages five charter schools in North Carolina.
Stephanie Perry, a board member for the Lee Scholars Charter School, said although NHA is a for-profit management company, the charter school itself is nonprofit and has a 501(c)(3) classification.
Representatives from NHA were present at the information meeting along with Michael Stack, principal at PreEminent Charter School in Raleigh, managed by NHA.
Stacks touted NHA’s support of its schools, saying, “Never … has there been any issue for me to get the supplies needed to support my kids.â€
NHA representatives said they would provide $7 million for building costs along with $500,000 annually until the school broke even.
“The reality is we are held accountable for the students success, and if we do not do what we said we would, then our charter gets taken away,†Lee said.