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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Charter School Board on Thursday proposed closing two charter schools in Salt Lake County that were on probation for budget and academic problems, among others.
Alianza Academy, a K-8 charter with campuses in West Valley City and South Salt Lake, and the Wasatch Institute of Technology, a charter high school in Murray, could face closure pending a final decision by the board in its September meeting or sooner.
The two schools have until Tuesday to appeal the board's unanimous decision. If they do, the charter school board will hold an informal hearing to review the decision. If the board upholds the termination, the schools could go before the state superintendent and the Utah State Board of Education for final action, drawing the process out to as late as December, according to Utah State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson.
Howard Headlee, chairman of the Utah State Charter School Board, said the schools being open this fall will depend on whether they decide to appeal. Alianza Academy was scheduled to begin school this Wednesday, and the institute was set to start classes on Aug. 24.
"If the schools decide not to appeal, school will not be open this fall. If the schools decide to appeal, then they will have that opportunity and then there is a chance that they will be. We have to wait and see," Headlee said. "As difficult as this is, and as disappointing as it is, both of these schools were trying to do very difficult and noble things. … They were committed to searching for better ways to teach children, but when it doesn't work, we move on and continue our search."
Reasons for Alianza Academy being put on probation included "perceived budget problems, contract issues, revenue reductions, special education services, academic scores and Title I concerns," according to the Utah State Office of Education.
Alianza Academy, whose charter reaches out specifically to students of low-income and minority families, opened in 2011 and enrolled 397 students in 2014.
The school saw low proficiency scores on last year's SAGE test. Twenty percent of the school's students scored proficiently in English, 13 percent in math and 18 percent in science, below statewide averages of 42 percent, 39 percent and 44 percent for the three subjects, respectively, according to the Utah State Office of Education.
The school's elementary PACE report card for last year reported that 40 percent of the students were of an ethnic minority, 57 percent were from low socio-economic families, 14 percent had disabilities and 40 percent were chronically absent. For middle schoolers, 36 percent were from ethnic minorities, 27 percent had disabilities, and 49 percent struggled with chronic absenteeism.
"The bottom line is there were significant breakdowns in governance, significant breakdowns in management, significant risk from an operational standpoint, and significant underperformance academically, pretty much across the board," Headlee said.
Cindy Phillips, who became chairwoman of Alianza Academy's Board of Directors less than two weeks ago, said that while the school has struggled academically, it has made significant changes to its administration and board in recent weeks and has already resolved several budgetary concerns cited by the board.
If the schools decide not to appeal, school will not be open this fall. If the schools decide to appeal, then they will have that opportunity and then there is a chance that they will be. We have to wait and see.
–Howard Headlee, chairman of the Utah State Charter School Board
She also said the board is breaking a precedent it has set for other failing schools, such as Canyon Grove Academy in Pleasant Grove, that were allowed to continue operating once they had restructured their administration.
"I'm disappointed that the State Charter School Board didn't see past a difficult phase in the school's history to the altruistic vision and mission of the charter which they themselves approved in order to allow the school to operate in the coming school year," Phillips said.
She said the school's board of directors planned to meet Friday to decide whether to file an appeal, which was "very likely."
The Wasatch Institute of Technology was cited as having "perceived budget problems, teacher credential issues, and (problems with) the transferability of credits from the school," as well as failing to meet "financial performance and sustainability guidance provisions, including enrollment capacity, student enrollment levels and retention," according to the state office.
Headlee said the school was required to propose to the State Charter School Board how it would improve its fiscal viability. The school presented a plan in June to move to another location and cohabitate with another school to cut expenses, he said, but it's unclear whether the students would be willing to travel to the new location.
"When they voted to move their operation, they were basically at that juncture admitting that as constructed and as operating, they were not viable," he said.
The institute, which started its first year of classes last fall, enrolled 81 students. SAGE and PACE data was not available for the school, and school leadership did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Royce Van Tassell, executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, praised the board for its decision Thursday.
"I think that this is an affirmation that charter schools work," Van Tassell said. "Charter schools are not about rewarding failure. And if you fail, then because Utah provides other options, it's entirely appropriate, perhaps even important, that we say, 'We're not going to just keep bailing you out.'"
Parents of students currently enrolled in Alianza Academy or the Wasatch Institute of Technology who wish to find other school options for this fall can contact their local school district, or either the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools at 801-836-7028 or the Utah Charter Network at 801-722-8911.
