An opinion piece was posted recently saying the school board had "thrown the boys to the wolves" by approving the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy. That comment let me know that many people need an education as to what a charter school is and the board's role in approving them.

First, a charter school is a public school. Second, charter schools receive the same per pupil funding that is given to the Hamilton County School System by the federal, state and county governments. Charter schools can only accept students who are failing or who attend a school not meeting AYP (adequate yearly progress).

With the funding given to charter schools, they must pay their teachers and administrators salaries as well as benefits. They must also pay all utilities and provide their own transportation. Charter schools also have to provide their own building and equipment. Remember, other Hamilton County schools do not have to provide buildings out of the HCDE per pupil allotment. Hamilton County schools are built with bond money paid for out of the Hamilton County government general fund.

Charter schools can also be shut down after two years of not making AYP. If all schools were held to this standard, many would not be in operation today.

The school board is not throwing anyone to the "wolves". There is already talk of someone (not the school board) looking at starting an all-boys charter school. The school board is not responsible for creating charter schools - we are only responsible to approve or disapprove charter school applications and negotiate contracts with them.

Charter schools are going to be a reality in Hamilton County. It is state law. The Ivy Academy Charter School's application was rejected by the school board because it was not known if the location sited for the school could be adequately expanded if needed or converted to meet all federal guidelines for handicap accessibility. Remember, these are still Hamilton County schools and still have to meet all federal regulations. However, we have been informed by the state that they have approved Ivy Academy's application. So, we, the Hamilton County School Board, have to enter into contract negotiations with them. If we still do not feel good about the building facility during negotiations, we can refuse to allow it to open.

There is a lot of work to be done before Hamilton County's first charter school can open. Opening a charter school is a process. The vote last Thursday was just to approve the Girls Leadership Academy application. We must now start the hard work of drawing up a contract with them.

I am personally waiting on an application for a Classic Elementary Education Charter School - a charter school that teaches phonics, mastering basic math skills, civics, spelling, cursive writing and American history. I am afraid, however, there is not be a vacant building available that will hold all students whose parents would apply.

The school board did not intend to throw anyone to "the wolves". We simply approved an application that contained all of the requirements set by the state. If we had not approved the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy application (all 500 pages) and they had appealed to the state, I think the Tennessee Department of Education would have paid us a visit to make sure we understood what an adequate charter school application looked like.

I personally wish the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy well in an education experience I feel is desperately needed in Hamilton County. I also think an all-boys charter school is an excellent idea. Now, someone who feels the same way needs to get busy and submit an application to make it happen.

Rhonda Thurman
School Board
District 1
rthrm@aol.com