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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — The Public Charter School Commission has issued a letter of intent to revoke a southeastern Idaho school's charter.
The Post Register reports (http://www.postregister.com/node/57199) that the commission sent the letter on Wednesday to Odyssey Charter School in Idaho Falls after it failed three accreditation readiness visits.
The commission determined that the school wouldn't be able to achieve accreditation candidacy status by a June 30 deadline. The school has 30 days to reply, and that's followed by a public hearing within 30 to 60 days.
"The problem with Odyssey is they did not achieve accreditation candidacy status in the first year," said Commission Director Tamara Baysinger. "They were aware of the requirement but, unfortunately, they did not accomplish what they needed to, so they're considered a non-accredited school at this point."
School deficiencies included not having financial or enrollment data. The school also didn't have a budget or financial plan to show the review team.
A hearing officer will make a recommendation, and the commission will make the final decision, Baysinger said.
The school has about 200 students. More than 30 are high school students whose credits might not be accepted at other public schools because Odyssey is considered non-accredited. Baysinger said that wouldn't change even if the school is successful in attaining accreditation candidacy next school year.
"It's up to the receiving districts whether or not they choose to (accept credits)," she said. "But if Odyssey continues operations into next year, and they achieve candidacy status during that year, the credits earned this past year will still be considered from a non-accredited school."
Andrew Whitford, Odyssey school board vice chairman, said the school might seek an appeal if the charter is revoked.
"It was every intention of ours to meet those deadlines and make those goals," he said. "However, they did stress at that time there was a lot of work to get done in a short time and it just did not happen. We have not given up at this point. We have full confidence we can attain candidacy in the fall and we're making progress in that step."
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Information from: Post Register, http://www.postregister.com
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