Jackson-Madison Co. school board denies ACA charter school on second attempt

The Jackson-Madison County Board of Education voted 7-1, with one pass vote, to deny American Classical Academy's charter school application at Thursday's special-called meeting.

Board members who voiced a "yes" vote, were in favor of denying ACA's application, while a "no" vote meant that the application should be accepted. District 4 Representative Harvey Walden was the sole "no" vote, while District 3 Rep. Debbie Gaugh chose to "pass" on her vote.

More: Madison Co. school board to decide on opening ACA charter school

The meeting began with public comment, which school board chairman James Johnson prefaced is not normally allowed in special-called meetings, from both ACA staff in favor of the charter as well as parents and educators who opposed it.

JMCSS comes as the fourth denial of ACA's application this week, among Robertson County Schools, Maury County Public Schools and Clarksville-Montgomery School System. Rutherford County remains the only school system to have voted in favor of the charter.

The partnership between Hillsdale College, a Christian liberal arts college in southern Michigan, and American Classical Education Inc. was established in February 2022 with the goal of expanding classical charter schools in Tennessee.

After JMCSS previously denied ACA's application in July of last year, the charter made an additional attempt with an amended application in February of this year.

Though charter schools are run autonomously from public schools, they rely on public education funding to operate, warranting JMCSS's involvement in the decision.

JMCSS Attorney Dale Thomas read a resolution to deny the charter based on a total of 50 reasons derived from ACA's application.

Reasons included:

• the establishment of an ACA charter school "will have a substantial negative fiscal impact on the district" totaling $1.2 million dollars

• enrollment projections could not be determined in the application

• allegedly engaging with non-profit organizations in Jackson, despite inaccurately naming them and failing to contact them altogether

• lack of rigor in education

• no support that Singapore math, of which ACA's curriculum is a proponent, is as rigorous as the determined Tennessee education standards

ACA has 30 days to amend application deficiencies if they so choose to reapply, and the JMCSS board has 60 days to review and reconsider the submission.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: The school board voted against having charter school in Jackson