By any measure, Chattanooga Preparatory School’s first high school basketball season was a slam dunk success.
The newly established public charter school entered the 2020/2021 season with only a 9th grade class, so the varsity boys team consisted solely of freshmen. The Sentinels still went 10 and 5 on the year, coming one game shy of qualifying for the 8-team state tournament.
That record included a 5 and 1 district result for the only public charter school in Tennessee’s Division I Class 1A Region 3 District 5. The Sentinels only district loss came to Polk County rival Copper Basin. The two teams split their season series and then faced off in the district championship game where Copper Basin won a nail-bitter by just two points.
It would appear one season of facing the Sentinels was more than enough for Copper Basin.
During last month’s Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) annual regional meetings, the small Polk County school proposed moving all public charter schools out of the Division I that they are currently in with traditional public schools. Under the proposal, public charter school athletes would instead compete in Division II with private schools.
“All public high schools are made up of students from set boundaries, while charter schools can be made up from more open or less restrictive boundaries and thus have access to a greater population of students. This change will allow schools with similar restrictions to students located only in their established attendance zones to compete against like public schools,” wrote Copper Basin High School in its submission to the TSSAA.
That reasoning didn’t make sense to Tennessee Charter School Center, who provided an op-ed against the proposal to the Tennessee Firefly.
“Public charter schools may only enroll students in the geographic boundary of the district where they are located and do not have “access to a greater population of students,” as suggested in the rationale for the proposed change,” said the Tennessee Charter School Center. “Public charter schools are also not the only public choice schools in the state. Many districts offer magnet school options and have moved away from traditional “zoned” enrollment for all district schools, yet this proposal only singles out public charter schools.”
Thursday morning the 12 member TSSAA Legislative Council unanimously rejected the proposed bylaw change after hearing from TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves, who pointed out the inconsistencies it would create if it passed.
“A magnet school’s territory is the entire school system just like a charter school,” said TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves. “So, this, again trying to create consistency, would be inconsistent with the way we currently interpret other schools.”
Surprising Proposal:
The vote brought relief to public charter school supporters who had no notice of the proposal before Copper Basin made it.
The unanimous rejection is also noteworthy considering Copper Basin wasn’t the only traditional public school who supported it.
At last month’s regional meetings, more than 70 percent of TSSAA member schools voted in favor of the proposal, compared to just 21 percent who voted against it. Notably, the 253 schools who voted for the proposal include 104 from the Middle Tennessee region where there have recently been multiple examples of discrimination against high-quality public charter schools and the students who attend them.
TSSAA member schools include both traditional public schools along with public charter schools and private schools. Under association rules, any member school can propose a bylaw change.
Competitive Disadvantage
A vote in favor of the bylaw change, would’ve brought significant harm to public charter high schools, where more than 90% are students of color and more than 80% are economically disadvantaged.
Public charter schools are prohibited by law from charging tuition or offering scholarships and few have adequate funds to cover the costs of facilities, equipment, additional coaching staff, or other benefits. This puts the schools at a significant competitive disadvantage with private schools in Division II.
Another challenge public charter schools would’ve faced in Division II is recruiting. The schools are prohibited by law from choosing who can or cannot enroll and they must admit all students or operate an independently certified blind lottery for student enrollment. This precludes them from recruiting student-athletes like some private schools do.
Before Thursday’s vote, Reeves also pointed out there’s no evidence that public charter schools are showing any competitive advantages in Division I.
“Certainly, the school that proposed this sees an issue in their area but when you look at the number of championships that are being won and people that are going deep in the post season, charter schools have not been a major issue for us,” said Reeves to the council.
Copper Basin basketball fans might have a different opinion after last week’s game.
Chattanooga Prep beat Copper Basin 68 to 24.
