KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville NAACP President Rev. Sam Brown asked the Knox County School Board to reject Knox Prep's application to open a charter school in Knox County.
The organization's director said a charter school would pull resources from traditional public schools and create disparity among students.
"Charter schools, or anything that takes public funding from the public schools, does very little to help the greater part of the community," Brown said. "The current school system here in Knox County needs all of the resources that it can get."
Leaders who operate Chattanooga Prep in Hamilton County are trying to open a similar school in Knoxville, called Knox Prep.
The charter school would be open to 105 new 6th grade boys every year and run through high school.
"We will prepare our boys to go to and through college," said Michael Howard, who would be the principal of Knox Prep. "We are tackling the social-emotional problem that's happening in our adolescents."
Brown argued opening a charter school with 100 6th graders in an area with two middle schools (Whittle Springs and Vine) would force one of them to shut down.
In a text message to 10News, Knox County Schools spokesperson Carly Harrington said Whittle Springs Middle School has 139 6th graders and Vine Middle School has 158 6th graders.
"We would not be able to speculate on the impact stated," Harrington said.
When asked whether having a male-only school is a good idea, Howard said Knox Prep would be designed to take advantage of the 'competitive' spirit among boys.
"The classroom environment is pretty much male-focused because we know our boys are competitive," Howard said. "We have this competition, in who can read the most words. When it's a competition, the boys lock in."
"Men are the head of the home, the head of the family," said Dr. Angel Ulmer, the HR director of Chattanooga Prep. "To change the trajectory of these boys' lives where they can go from these schools, and how they're going to flourish in college and just thrive in their livelihoods."
The Knox County Board of Education would have to vote to approve Knox Prep. If the school board votes to reject the application, Tennessee's charter commission could overrule the Knox County BOE.
The Chattanooga NAACP President, who is also a Chattanooga Prep school board member wrote a letter to Brown in support of Knox Prep.