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Charter school agreement for Knoxville Preparatory School does not pass Knox Co. Schools, another vote expected in December

The Board of Education already approved the application for Knoxville Preparatory School in April. The agreement lasts through June 2035.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders of Knox County School met Thursday to decide whether to approve a charter agreement with Knoxville Preparatory School, an all-boys charter school that plans to open in fall 2024. The agreement would be in effect through June 2035.

Knoxville Preparatory School plans to operate at the Boys and Girls Club building located at 957 Irwin Street and 967 Irwin Street. The Boys and Girls Club will also provide after-school programming for students on-site. In April 2023, KCS voted to approve the school's application after considering it twice.

Because the application was approved, Knoxville Preparatory School can continue with enrollment, recruiting and hiring teachers. However, on Thursday, some KCS members said they didn't have enough time to thoroughly go through the agreement.

So, they decided not to pass the agreement on Thursday. Four members voted to pass it, two passed on the vote, and one member voted against it. It failed because KCS did not have a quorum. The agreement would need to be brought back in December for a vote.

Originally, KCS met on April 6 to vote on the charter school's application. During that meeting, the application did not pass in a 4-4 vote. The board was missing one person during that meeting, and some members spoke about several concerns they had about the application, such as a "lack of a SPED plan," concerns about the data in it, and a lack of a commitment to accept transgender students.

The Knox County law director's office then asked KCS leaders to reconvene, since KCS leaders also did not give reasons why the application failed, as required by state law. In their second meeting, KCS approved the school's application. 

Critics also said that charter schools are able to accept public funds without answering to publically elected boards like traditional schools do. They also said there were concerns that by only accepting boys, the school may violate federal Title IX guidelines. However, supporters said they believe schools like Knoxville Preparatory School could improve children's education.

Knoxville Preparatory School is expected to welcome 105 sixth-grade boys for its first year.

On Nov. 6, the board met for a work session where they discussed the agreement.

John Butler, a member of KCS, later asked for the vote to be delayed until December so KCS would have more time to review the agreement. A representative said the agreement was designed to also mirror an agreement with Emerald Academy, another charter school operating in Knox County.

Katherine Bike and Jennifer Owen, other board members, also said they did not have time to review it. A KCS representative said Knoxville Preparatory School's legal team sent back edits to the agreement on Sept. 19. Later, stakeholders met together in person to finalize the agreement, causing the agreement's delay before it was presented to board members.

"We know that you're not asking us to do this, but we don't want to feel like and we don't want the public to feel like we're asking to approve things just to approve them," said Daniel Watson, a KCS member.

During the conversation on Nov. 6, law director Gary Dupler said according to the agreement, KCS could only become liable for debts the school incurs if KCS co-signs on borrowed money.

The agreement specifies that the all-boys charter school could not discriminate against students based on race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, English language proficiency, academic or athletic ability, sex, or the need for special education and related services.

It can enroll a maximum of 700 students. The school hopes to enroll 700 students between sixth grade and 12th grade by the sixth year it's open. It also says Knoxville Preparatory School needs to use required state assessments for students.

"Knoxville Preparatory School shall operate as a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious public school with control of instruction vested in the Governing Body of the Charter School," the agreement said.

Teachers will need to be licensed according to state statutes and state board of education rules, and meet federal qualifications. The agreement also gives Knoxville Preparatory School the chance to provide its own transportation for students, and if it does KCS would need to provide money that would have been spent on providing public transportation, as long as the charter school's transportation follows state laws.

The agreement also said Knoxville Preparatory School could not charge tuition.

   

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