Charter school can open in Franklin County — if it complies with desegregation order
A new charter school can open in Franklin County in 2022 as long as it submits to a federal school desegregation order that the Franklin County school system must follow.
The Franklin school system has opposed allowing Wake Preparatory Academy to relocate to their county because the district is still under a court order requiring it “to eliminate the vestiges of discrimination.” The State Board of Education voted Thursday to allow the relocation if Wake Prep “agrees that it is bound by and will comply with the Court-ordered desegregation plan in effect for Franklin County Schools.”
“We recognize that Franklin County is under a deseg plan and that allowing the charter school to move into the new county also requires them to comply with that plan,” state board member Amy White, who chairs the committee that reviews charter schools, said this week.
Wake Prep’s board of directors told the state board that it “will assist in the compliance of Franklin County Schools’ desegregation order.”
The state board is also requiring Wake Prep to comply with a state law that charter schools “shall make efforts for the population of the school to reasonably reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population” of the district it’s located in.
But there’s no punishment if charter schools don’t match the demographics of the surrounding school district.
One of the state’s largest charter schools
Wake Prep plans to open a K-12 school serving more than 1,600 students, which would make it one of the larger charter schools in North Carolina. Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow.
Wake Prep would be managed by Charter One, a company formed by Arizona businessman Glenn Way. It would also get land for the school from another company formed by Way. The Arizona Republic reported how businesses owned or tied to Way made millions in profits from charter schools in Arizona.
Charter One has been expanding operations into North Carolina.
The state board had voted to allow Wake Prep to open in Wake Forest in 2020 over the objections of the Wake County school system. But due to its site plan being rejected, Wake Prep has gotten state permission to delay opening until 2022.
Wake Prep is suing Wake Forest, but its appeal was denied in state Superior Court. Charter One is appealing to the state Court of Appeals.
Wake Prep now wants to relocate 1.4 miles from its Wake Forest site into Franklin County. Relocation requests that move charter schools across school district lines need state approval.
Dave Machado, director of the state Office of Charter Schools, pointed to how 7,000 students are on the school’s interest list to show that Wake Prep has strong parental support.
Concerns about school resegregation
In its impact statement, the Franklin County school system argued that allowing Wake Prep to relocate “takes an additional step towards resegregation of schools in Franklin County.” It noted how two existing charter schools in Franklin County have significantly higher rates of white students than district schools.
Franklin County is one of the few North Carolina school districts under an active federal court desegregation order. The court has jurisdiction over a program that allows students who attend a school where their race is above the district average to transfer to a school where there are fewer students of their race.
The Franklin County school system “is concerned that despite 53 years of efforts to ensure that our schools are demonstrating a level of accountability and commitment to diversity and equity in our practices, this work could be undone with the growing presence of charters in our county,” the district says in its letter to the state board.
Wake Prep told the state board that it will take multiple steps to “partner” with Franklin County in its desegregation efforts, including:
▪ Hire a community outreach coordinator to reach out frequently to the educationally disadvantaged families.
▪ Give selection priority to disadvantaged students for up to 35% of its enrollment.
▪ Participate in the federal free and reduced price lunch program.
▪ Provide transportation for students.
▪ Participate in the Juneteenth annual celebrations in neighboring towns.
Charter schools aren’t required to provide transportation or meals to students. But Wake Prep does, in part, using its share of a federal grant aimed at diversifying charter schools.
“The Board of Directors is proposing to form an alliance with Franklin County Schools for the benefit of all children who will attend Wake Preparatory Academy and the traditional public schools in the district,” Hilda Parler, president of Wake Prep’s board, said in her letter to the state board. “We feel strongly that our alliance will positively affect its desegregation order.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 7:30 AM.
