Marietta Charter Loses Appeal

Teresa Peck and her husband began looking at other options for their Marietta Charter School second grader in November.

That was probably a good thing.

The state Board of Education denied an appeal today from the K-5 school to stay open. A committee of the board turned them down Wednesday, said Principal Christy Tureta.

The board’s decision today likely means that the 209-student school will have to close its doors this summer. It also means 42 teachers will lose their jobs.

“I’m very very disappointed,” Peck said. “She (her daughter) flourished beyond belief there.”

The school sent out an e-mail notifying parents of the committee’s decision. The school does plan a final step of submitting a petition on Friday to become a state-chartered special school.

Tureta and about 18 parents, including Peck’s husband, attended the committee meeting Wednesday. Tureta said she isn’t planning to go today for the vote of the board because she fully expects them to follow the committee’s decision.

“I need to be back at school,” she said Wednesday night.

Although Tureta said she is trying to be optimistic that there may still be a way to save the school, “reality starts to hit.”

It has for the Pecks as well. Their daughter has already been accepted at a Marietta magnet school.

After the Marietta Board of Education denied the school another charter, the couple “kind of figured it wasn’t going to go anywhere.”

Citing problems at the school ranging from enrollment numbers to financial issues and academic performance, the Marietta board voted unanimously last summer to deny the school another five-year charter and the addition of sixth grade.

Charter schools are public schools open to any student at no extra cost and are started by parents, nonprofits or local school districts. They have the flexibility to try new, specialized programs but can be held to higher standards than other public schools. Their charters can be pulled if goals aren't met.

After the denial at the local level, Marietta Charter School turned to the state commission, which has the power to grant charters for schools unable to secure them at the local level.

But on Dec. 16, the state Charter School Commission by the school for a charter in the 2011-12 school year. Although the commission often denies charters, this decision was rare in that it involved an existing school.

Marietta Charter then appealed the commission’s decision to the state Board of Education.

"I'm so sad," said Melba Moranes in January. Her daughter is in first grade at the Marietta Charter. "It's such a great school. Now we have to look for another one."