NIMBY Complaints Cured with Narrower Charter Authorizer

The state charter authorizer is being pushed by House Speaker Beth Harwell in response to the rejection of Great Hearts Academies last year. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN

A proposed state panel for approving charter schools initially rejected by local boards is again limited to just a handful of districts. The charter authorizer was going nowhere when it applied statewide.

Republican lawmakers were pulling their support when there was a possibility state-approved charters could pop up in their backyard.

“No one could vote for this bill when everyone was included,” Rep. Joe Armstrong (D-Knoxville) said.

Like most Democrats, Armstrong opposes the state charter authorizer, which has morphed again to include only districts that have one or more the state’s 83 lowest-performing schools. That’s Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and rural Hardeman County.

Rep. David Alexander of Winchester is one of the Republicans back on board. He says students in these schools need all the options they can get.

“How can I not vote for a bill that gives them the possibility of opportunities,” Alexander asked.

The most vocal critic has been the board of Metro Schools, which is considering a lawsuit if the state charter authorizer singles out only a handful of systems.