The Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School came one step closer to opening its doors Tuesday when the N.C. Public Charter School Advisory Council decided to recommend the school’s application to the N.C. State Board of Education.
Eddie Goodall, executive director of the N.C. Public Charter Schools Association, said the council will recommend the school’s application at the Board of Education meeting in February. He said the board will likely make a decision by March.
The application for the public elementary charter school was submitted Nov. 10 through the state’s “fast track” program for schools that have proven they can open this fall. Twenty-seven applications were submitted for the program last year, and the applicant pool has since been narrowed to four, Goodall said.
The Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School applicants say it will reduce overcrowding in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and help eliminate the achievement gap — problems school officials, including Superintendent Thomas Forcella, have argued are already being addressed.
If approved, the school will partner with National Heritage Academies, a for-profit company that builds and manages public charter schools.
This partnership has caused concern among some community members, including Barbara Hopkins, second vice president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP.
“If they want to do something, what they can do is help the existing public schools, but not for profit,” she said.
James Barrett, a member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board, said he is also worried about mixing business and education.
“I’m not wild about the idea of having for-profit companies running schools,” he said. “I think it creates an incentive to minimize the amount of money they spend on children.”
