The State Board of Education approved on Thursday a policy that seeks to reassert control over North Carolina charter schools weeks after the General Assembly shifted decision-making for approving these nontraditional public schools to a panel filled with mostly legislative appointees.
The board voted 8-3 to direct the Charter School Review Board to submit to the education board all initial and renewal charter applications that the new panel approves and related financial documents. The State Board of Education will then decide whether to disburse state and federal funds to the charter school after determining if it complies with government funding regulations.
The policy doesn’t include a list of reasons why funding would be withheld, WRAL-TV reported. State Board of Education members supporting the policy say they’re exercising their authority from the North Carolina Constitution to allocate funds to and ensure financial accountability for charter schools, of which there are over 200 statewide.
Education board Chair Eric Davis said seven charter schools have closed over the last few years, and “at least five of them with questionable financial situations,” The News & Observer of Raleigh reported.
“What judgment will we use in determining funding?” Davis said. “We’ll use the same judgment that we use in determining funding for any school.”
Appointees of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to the board voted for the policy, while “no” votes came in part from Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and State Treasurer Dale Folwell, who are both Republicans.
Source : Spectrum
