JMCSS board seeks legal recourse, state commission overturns charter school denial

The Jackson-Madison County school board is considering legal recourse following the state charter commission's overturning of the board's denial of the amended application for an American Classical Education charter school.

When the Tennessee State Charter School Commission met Oct. 5 at their Nashville office for the appeal hearing of both ACE's Madison and Maury County applications, a unanimous vote from commissioners superseded JMCSS's denial of the application.

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In a special-called meeting on Monday morning, the board held a public meeting, and subsequent press conference, to vote on a resolution to pursue appropriate legal action. In what resulted in a 6-2 vote, with opposing votes from Harvey Walden (District 4, Position 1) and Debbie Gaugh (District 3), the motion to consider litigation against the charter commission passed.

JMCSS Attorney Dale Thomas shared after the vote that additional attorneys have been authorized to "investigate and research potential legal remedies."

School Board Chairman James "Pete" Johnson noted that it has been "a long and frustrating process," that the board has been "crystal clear and very deliberate" during that process, and they stand by their decision.

While the majority of commissioners noted the absence of JMCSS representatives at the Oct. 5 meeting, Thomas indicated in a statement following the overturn that current charter commission policy states that additional opportunities for the board to engage with commissioners is not allowed outside the confines of a 2-minute verbal statement or a one-page written statement.

While Thomas indicated in the response that JMCSS had submitted the one-page written statement, he noted that "it was obvious that the commission members were not aware of its own procedural rules."

District 2 councilmember Johnny Dodd, who represents the East Jackson area where ACE's charter was proposed to be located, shared that staying focused on public education is the best approach for the community.

"There's nothing against charter schools but my whole thing is what's best for the kids," Dodd said. "Based on the information that we have received, based on the application process, I'm a proponent for public school."

Madison County Commissioner (District 2) Olivia Abernathy, who has consistently been outspoken during public comment about her opposition to a charter school, expressed that her "love and passion for public education" and "feeling protective of what we have in our public school system" has prompted her involvement in the process.

"I don't approve of the way the [charter] commission handled the dialogue in the room, the way they didn't understand their own rules, it should not have been allowable the way that they handled it so I understand wanting to look into what remedies are available," she said. "It's a very important decision to make that's going to effect this community for a long time so we have to make that really well."

For tips, questions, or stories to share, contact Sarah Best at srbest@gannett.com or by phone at (731) 313-3132.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: JMCSS Attorney touts legal pushback against state charter commission