After plenty of heated discussion on Thursday evening, the shorthanded Knox County Board of Education failed to approve Knoxville Preparatory School’s charter application with a 4-4 tie. Board member Susan Horn (District 5) was absent and board member Mike McMillan (District 8) was absent for parts of the meeting.Founded by PREP Public Schools, the proposed all-boys Knoxville Prep would serve 700 students in grades 6-12. It would be a replication of Hamilton County’s Chattanooga Preparatory School under the same group.Leaders of PREP Public Schools intend to focus on providing young men in Knoxville an opportunity to succeed with data-driven instruction, individualized learning, and intensive social and emotional supports.This plan was considered to meet the standards of approval by those reviewing the application, and Knox County Schools staff had recommended approval of the application.Despite the application receiving high merits in its evaluation and review for its curriculum and understanding of Tennessee graduation and academic standards, as well as the knowledge the founding team displayed, the new charter school has seen opposition from organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).“We (NAACP) are here speaking on this matter because we feel that the effect that it (Knox Prep) will have many of the most marginalized in our community is not worth the risk,” said NAACP representative Rev. Sam Brown.Lack of support for economically disadvantaged students, negative impacts to the public schools in the area, and lack of results from their education model was among the main reasons cited by the board members that voted against the application – including John Butler (District 1), Jennifer Owen (District 2), Daniel Watson (District 3) and Katherine Bike (District 4).“Charter schools are merely cloaked private schools, draining public funds from already underfunded and under-supported schools,” said Pamela Leskowyak, a Knox County resident.Members of the board expressed concern over the discrepancies in the data presented in the application such as inaccurate reflection of the demographics in their proposed data.“There’s some serious factual discrepancies throughout the application for Knox Prep and it calls into quick question how thoroughly these claims were vetted and if they were vetted at all,” said board member Jennifer Owens.Representatives from Knox Prep and board members supporting that application – including Betsy Henderson (District 6), Kristi Kristy (District 9), Mike McMillan (District 8) and Steve Triplett (District 7) – explained the data difference was a result of government measures of family poverty that fail to take into account all students properly.The application ultimately failed to get a majority vote. The board also rejected the motion for Knox Prep to file an amended application, which saw continuous stalemates throughout the night. If a failure of approval is reached, state law requires the board to provide reasons for a denial, but the board was unable to reach a consensus, each resulting in a 4-4 along the same lines.The potential reasons for rejecting the application included discrepancies in community engagement, financial data, and suspension data. The length of time needed to discuss their reasons for denial was also proposed to be included, however, all four of these reasons failed.Members of the Knox County Board of Education must say why they rejected the application. If not, the charter school automatically gets approved on May 1. Knox Prep can also file an appeal to amend their application to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.
So what's next?¶
The board will likely have to vote again ahead of the May 1st deadline when all members are present or could take no action and approve Knox Prep by default. Until then, the school, and the more than 70 families in Knox County that have signaled they are eager to enroll their children in the school, will watch, wait, and continue to be active and present in the community.¶
