The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission heard its final appeals of the year from locally rejected charter schools Tuesday. The commission voted 5-3 to approve Tennessee Nature Academy, overriding the decision of the Metro Nashville Public School board.
That’s even though the commission’s executive director, Tess Stovall, recommended against it, citing “uncertain, unpredictable finances.”
Stovall said that grants outlined in the charter’s amended application failed to materialize. Her recommendation also raised concerns about a lack of financial expertise in the internal leadership team.
Additionally, Stovall wrote, “I have concerns as to whether the sponsor will be able to properly recruit and retain teachers for their unique model in a way that serves all special populations with the projected salaries allocated within the budget.”
She said the average salary for general education teachers in the charter school’s budget was low compared to MNPS pay, around $51,000. And teachers for special education and English learners were budgeted to be paid about $41,000 on average.
Why commissioners overturned the local board decision
Tennessee Nature Academy offered some information to bolster its case Tuesday. And some commission members noted the school has some financial backing from groups that inspired confidence for them, like the Joe C. Davis Foundation and The City Fund. Commissioner Wendy Tucker said those entities also back charters like Nashville Classical and Valor Collegiate, which she lauded as “some of the best” schools in Nashville.
“Do we go with the fact that they’ve tried to cover these gaps … hired someone, brought in back-office support, have acres of land given to them and put a little bit of risk on finance?” Tucker asked. “Or do we risk that this school never happens — because they put two years into this and we deny them, and they don’t have the ability to stay and continue and come back, and kids lose?”
Tucker was among the majority of commissioners who voted in favor of the charter, but three others voted to uphold Metro Schools’ rejection, including Commissioner Eddie Smith.
“There’s still some serious gaps,” he said, like a lack of funding for computers, that need to be addressed. Commission chair Tom Griscom and member Alan Levine also voted against the charter school.
What happens next
Within the next month, MNPS could form a charter agreement with Tennessee Nature Academy, making it part of the school district. Otherwise, the state commission will oversee the school.
This vote comes as the commission denied five other charter schools during the quarterly meeting, including academies proposed in the suburban Williamson and Sumner Counties. The board has been under heightened scrutiny over its authority to overturn local decisions on charters, institutions that receive public funding but operate independently from school districts.
Of the 13 schools that came before the commission this cycle, the body approved three of them, overriding local rejections. All three of those were from Metro Nashville Public Schools.
MNPS board chair Rachael Anne Elrod criticized the commission’s decision to “ignore” the executive director’s recommendation. She writes in a statement to WPLN News that the district doesn’t need these additional seats.
“Forcing MNPS to open and pay for unapproved charter schools continues to untenably increase our fixed costs and is a gross overreach that ignores the local public’s desires and the school board’s elected responsibilities.”
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