D-26 Receives Formal Application for Charter School

After months of preliminary meetings and informal discussions, the nonprofit Vision Group, which plans to operate a school for kindergarten through 5th grade, has submitted a formal charter school application to .

“We as a board are looking for new innovative approaches to what we’re doing in order to upgrade as much as possible the educational experience for the kids in the district,” board president Chris Spoerl said at the Monday night regular board meeting.

According to the National Education Assoication, "charter schools are publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools, in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each charter school's charter."

Vision Group plans to operate the school under the name Concord Charter Academy at the vacant .

Charter School Rejection Letter

Spoerl said charter schools are a possibility for the district so the board decided to send two board members to sit in on a couple of meetings, which began October 2011 with the charter group.

However, after Spoerl and board member Scott Coffey conducted a cost analysis, they found the plan not beneficial to the district, which led to Spoerl sending a rejection letter to Vision Group earlier this month.

Laws Violated?

The charter school proposal had not been discussed publicly before Monday night, causing some community members to wonder if laws had been violated.

“Statue for charter schools only kicks in once the district receives an official application from the charter school, which the district did receive this past Thursday,” Coleman said.

“I don’t think everyone was clear that really was the case, if there were laws that kicked in based on those prior meetings,” board secretary Chris Jenner added.

Thursday’s formal submission begins the 45-day time-frame of conducting a public hearing, which is open to the public to make comment and listen to a proposal from Vision group.

The district’s attorney has not reviewed the application.

“We do not have a legal opinion at this point,” Spoerl said.  However, the board is moving forward on the assumption that it is complete, Spoerl added.

Vision Group board member Terry Trobiani

Vision Group board member, Terry Trobiani said Spoerl’s presentation of what transpired was inaccurate.

“There has been discussion since 2010 regarding the charter school whether they were formal or not,” Trobiani said.

A formal application would have been submitted five to seven month ago, Trobiani said, but “we tried to formulate an application that would work with the district and the community.”

Trobiani said Vision Group began discussing curriculum, management activities and teaching methods, but was told the district wasn’t in the position to discuss such matters.

During the second meeting, Trobiani said board members wanted to see the business model and financial plans.

“Charter schools are not going to put money in your pocket.” Trobiani said. “Charters schools aren’t the cure to the district’s financial woes.”

Trobiani finds the official charter school time-line to be problematic.

“I’m sorry, you guys played us for the time-line,” he said. “And it’s obvious, you kept this going, it took you seven weeks to review a financial analysis that we presented to you, to get a meeting, to sit in front of two board members."

“Your financial manager [Coffey] wasn’t privy to the business plan seven weeks prior to the meeting and 48 hours you come up with a financial analysis that doesn’t work for the district,” Trobiani added.

Spoerl, who invited Vision Group to speak at the board meeting, said he wasn’t going to debate Trobiani on the issue.

“I apologize that the process didn’t move at the pace you wanted,” the board president said. Spoerl then explained the email correspondence between him and the charter group, which invited the group to discuss the results of the costs analysis, completed by himself and Coffey, but did not receive feedback.

“I invited dialogue and I didn’t get any, I thought that was dealing in good faith,” Spoerl said.

Jason Larry, board vice-president, who also attended a preliminary meeting with Vision Group, said it’s the board job to provide excellent education.

“I do feel that it’s one of our jobs as a board, to continue to find creative ways to deliver excellent education to our kids, while being fiscally responsible,” Larry said. “And I do believe that we should all in very public and open way evaluate the merits of what’s on here [charter application].”

Larry said he doesn’t think anyone is against the concept of a charter school because it is a creative way to deliver excellent education to our kids.

“But I really do believe we need to look into this and to see what the merits are from a financial perspective to see if it’s affordable,” he said. 

As long as the application is complete based on the attorney’s review, a public hearing will be scheduled in the next 45 days, Coleman said.

Charter School Timeline Proposal

First action, applicant submit proposal to Board of Education in the form of a proposed contract that addresses criteria set forth in Illinois Charter School Law.

             Action                                                                           Time-frame

The commision can affirm or reverse the board's decision and a party may appeal a decision of commission in court under the Administrative Review Law.