At a specially called meeting on Tuesday, the Metro School board voted 5-4 to deny two charter applications from KIPP Academy. Board member Dr. Jo Ann Brannon says she would like to embrace all current schools and those in the pipeline, but wanted to hit pause on the approval of new charters until their financial impact on the district is known.
“When is enough, enough? And how will we answer that question as long as we continue to grant approvals?” asked Brannon.
Board member Tyese Hunter was one of the “Yes” votes on KIPP Academy’s applications. She says that while the board deserves to know the effect charters have on the district, continuing school choice is important.
“With the growth of our district, parents are making choices and we don’t have enough MLKs, we don’t have enough Hume Foggs, we don’t have enough Head Middle Schools, we don’t have enough of those schools that are doing very well, that parents feel comfortable with,” said Hunter.
KIPP Academy has the option to appeal the board’s decision to the state, and several board members say they expect that to happen in the next few days.
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