Tennessee staff fret as contentious charter school denied

The city of Nashville is located in Tennessee. The staff at the state commission that would soon have to decide whether or not to allow the controversial school to open was shocked by how things unfolded.

The text messages they exchanged, obtained through a records request by The Associated Press, showed the close attention state staffers paid to the school board. The alarm was raised when no one showed up to make the case for the charter school.

What are you talking about? Both schools were invited to speak but they did not show up.

Chase Ingle, commission spokesman, said, "What?"

"I am speechless." The person wrote a letter.

The Tennessee Charter School Commission has been accused of being designed to rubberstamp charter schools that local communities don't like. The nine members were chosen by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly. The staff works for the commission.

The small conservative college in Michigan holds a lot of sway with Republican politicians. The New York Times' "1619 Project" focused on America's history of slavery and inspired the "1776 Curriculum." America's role in slavery and the rise of progressive politics are downplayed in curriculum materials.

There is a national debate over the role schools should play in teaching race and sexuality. The state of South Dakota turned to a former professor of politics to write social studies standards. They are in agreement with the curriculum.

Tennessee's state commission will be put to the test this week during public hearings, as board members consider whether to approve applications from three Hillsdale-affiliated charter schools appealing their rejections by local school boards

The commission provided hundreds of documents after the AP requested all conversations regarding the college and their affiliates. Commission staffers helped applicants navigate the appeals process, telling them what information was needed, and offered appeals training.

The texts were included in the documents as the staff watched the backlash against the applications.

The commission executive director sent a link to a news article about the independence being tested. I enjoy my quotations.

Ingle and Figueroa were texting during the school board meeting. Both expressed alarm when no one came to defend their application. The charter was rejected by the board.

Ingle said, "Beth, that's a tough look."

Ingle said that this doesn't help them. He said a member of the school board called him once a quarter.

Jim Wrye is a representative of Tennessee's largest organization representing teachers.

Wrye told the AP that the administration sold the state charter commission to the General Assembly. The goal was to undermine local control and drop charter schools in communities that don't like them. The belief is only getting bigger.

Charter schools were established in 2010. While it doesn't operate or manage them, it does offer support by licensing their curriculum for free and providing training and other resources to other member schools.

Tennessee's state commission has the power to overrule local decision makers. Or, the panel could make a statement about the training of teachers in the dumbest parts of the country. The governor wouldn't condemn his words, even though he was on stage with him.

The commission said staffers keep an eye on local school board meetings to be prepared for potential appeals.

Commission staff was anticipating 16 new start appeals when these text messages were sent. The commission only had three appeals last year, but they are currently handling 13 public charter school appeals.

The commission doesn't have to work on additional appeals if the school is approved at the local level.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Jeff Yarbro questioned the commission's logic, saying, "Hillsdale's poor showing only makes the commission's job harder if their mandate is to green light new schools."

Yarbro told the AP that the commission shouldn't be interested in the charter schools. The commission and staff are focused on opening more charters rather than making sure a fair and independent process is followed.

The commission was formed in 2019. The legislation backed by Gov. Lee would have moved the charter school appeals process from the state education board to a new panel focused on charter schools.

White told the AP that he still thinks the state commission is the best way to vet charter schools in Tennessee. The text messages show that the proceedings would affect their workload.

He said that he knew where they came from and that they were solid.

That's right.

The spelling of Stovalls last name has been changed.