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Greenville School District Trustees deny charter for new science school

Planners of proposed facility say they'll appeal to Education Board

Originally published in the Greenville News

By Ron Barnett
STAFF WRITER
rbarnett@greenvillenews.com

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If the Greenville Science Charter School ever sees the light of day, it will be over the objections of the Greenville County school board.

After a six-hour hearing Thursday, the board voted unanimously, with five members absent, to reject the would-be school's proposal, saying its financial plan was unsound and it didn't show enough evidence of community support.

Ali Ozer, chairman of the planning committee for the proposed high-standards science school, said he will appeal to the state Board of Education.

"We have very strong reasons to win the appeal," said Ozer, who helped established an award-winning science charter school in Fulton County, Ga.

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The proposed school, which hopes to operate in one of Greenville's recently vacated school buildings, already had gotten the stamp of approval from the state Charter School Advisory Committee.

"We have a higher standard, I think, than the advisory committee because of the tears we have seen from children and parents in our community," said trustee Debi Bush.

She was referring to what happened following the demise of two failed charter schools -- Restoring the Minds Math and Business Academy and the Palmetto Charter School. The board revoked the charters of those schools, and another school, the Nevin Center, surrendered its charter voluntarily after suffering declining enrollment.

The proposed science charter school began planning before the Legislature this year created a new statewide school district for charter schools that will allow them to circumvent school districts, which have a financial interest in opposing them.

Charter schools siphon resources and sometimes the best students from the school districts in which they operate, but they have greater freedom than regular public schools.

Ozer said his group had surveys filled out by about 150 families who indicated an interest in the school.

"I don't think there's a question of community support," said Dr. David Church, executive director of the South Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools, who helped defend the science school in the hearing.

Church is also a member of the state advisory board that approves charter school applications.

Alex Martin, the school district's liaison for charter schools, questioned whether the surveys showed serious intentions on the part of parents to send their children to the school.

The school hopes to open with 200 students in grades 6-9 and expand year by year through grade 12 to a total of 400 students.

"We're going to use national science standards, very high standards," Ozer said.

School district officials questioned whether the school would be able to offer special education services based on its budget, and whether its proposal to operate a paperless library was viable.

Ozer said the school has an implementation grant of $100,000, with another $100,000 to come if the charter is approved, to address those concerns.

The planning committee includes two Ph.D's and a doctoral student. Ozer, who holds a master's in education from Clemson University, was assistant principal and a founder of the Fulton Science Academy Middle School for four years, and is now an administrator at a charter high school that the middle school feeds into.

According to the Georgia Department of Education, the Fulton Science Academy Middle School met the federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards and received the 2006 Platinum Award for greatest gain in percentage of students meeting and exceeding standards.

None of Greenville County's middle schools -- except Langston Charter Middle School -- made AYP this year.