Thursday afternoon, the Metro School Board officially dissolved Nashville Global Academy, a charter school that opened in the fall and has struggled since day one.
Global Academy’s doors may be closed, but the school board approved a list of demands the charter’s administration must comply with. The first requirement? Payback the $400,000 it owes the district for overspending its budget.
Also, it must supply financial records and undergo a state audit. Administrators say poor financial records were kept at Global. The school still owes its teachers two and a half months pay.
School Board chair, David Fox, worries Global’s demise, along with another Metro charter school that may close this year due to academic struggles, could create a black eye for charter schools.
“It’s something I am concerned about because I think there is great potential in effective charter schools. We have room for about 15 more charter schools based on state legislation.”
Fox says the screening process for charters is a lot tougher than it was when Global was approved a year and a half ago. In addition to their financial troubles, the district placed Global on probation for transportation problems and enrolling students they weren’t approved to have.
Board members discussed how to prevent this from happening again. Alan Coverstone, oversees all charter schools for Metro. His position was created just days before the start of school. He told the board he immediately noticed Global wasn’t ready to open.
“I could see that their lack of finality on some of the decisions related to facilities and transportation had created a ripple effect that was distorting their budget.”
The district is working to find new schools for the roughly 170 kids enrolled at Global Academy.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM