Application denied for first charter school in Kentucky. School board votes ‘no.’
An application for what would have been the first charter school in Kentucky has been denied by the Madison County Board of Education.
Erin Stewart, a spokeswoman for Madison County Schools, confirmed that the school board voted “no” against the proposed LaFontaine Charter School Thursday night.
Stewart also confirmed that the board cited deficiencies in the application and the fact that Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd issued an order earlier this month finding that House Bill 9, which set up a funding mechanism for charter schools in the state, violated the Kentucky Constitution.
A charter school is an independently run public school that is granted flexibility in operations in return for higher accountability for performance.
Each charter school is bound by its “charter,” or contract, which establishes the academic, operational, financial, school climate and culture expectations as well as the school’s mission, program and methods of testing. Charter schools must accept all students, are tuition-free and are subject to Kentucky Open Records and Open Meetings law, according to information on the Jefferson County Schools website.
The 2017 Regular Session of the General Assembly approved HB 520, legislation that for the first time allowed charter schools in Kentucky. Although the framework for charter schools was established in 2017 with the passage of House Bill 520, the General Assembly did not provide any funding for charter schools until last year.
None have ever opened in Kentucky. The issue has been debated for years.
Gus LaFontaine, who heads the LaFontaine Preparatory School in Richmond for pre-kindergarten through 5th grade students, wanted to open a charter school called LaFontaine Charter Schools. His was the only current application in the state.
“Due to the recent ruling on HB 9 by the Franklin Circuit Court, I’m currently legally restrained from any actions to implement the statute,” LaFontaine said Saturday morning.
“Maintaining a standstill with our application is necessary to comply with the court’s order,” he said.
LaFontaine said “the application process remains in a state of suspension, not withdrawn.”
He said the board denied the application because he did not request a 60-day extension to make adjustments to the application the board wanted.
“Requesting an extension and adjusting our application did not serve our purpose to become a public charter school. The next step is to await while HB 9 continues to progress through Kentucky’s court system,” said LaFontaine.
“Our goal remains to become one of Kentucky’s first charter schools and enable more Kentucky families to exercise education freedom by choosing the school that fits the need of their child the best,” he said.
