The Tennessee Nature Academy’s supporters gathered for a party following the July 25 meeting of the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. Sure, their charter application had been rejected by a board vote of 5-4, but this was just the beginning of the process. Thanks to the creation of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, a nine-member body created and appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to hear charter school appeals, the state can override local decision makers.
“I think what I heard from the board meeting is that some of the board members, they don’t agree with the approvement system for charter schools and all that,” says young TNA supporter Stanley Phanthavong. “Like, if you don’t like it, then [change it]. Can they do that?”
MNPS board members can’t, though some wish they could. There is significant tension between the MNPS board and the state when it comes to charter schools and the processes surrounding them.
“Really we’re just a pit stop on the way now, we’re not really a decider … in a lot of ways and that’s really frustrating,” said District 8 representative Gini Pupo-Walker at the July 25 meeting.
To start a charter school in Tennessee, its sponsor must apply to a local board of education. District evaluators then review that application and rate it according to a rubric provided by the state. The district makes recommendations based on finances, operations, academics and, if applicable, past performance. The school board then votes to approve or deny a charter based on these findings.
MNPS District 1 representative Sharon Gentry, along with several other board members, expressed discomfort with the process at last month’s meeting.
“There’s got to be a reason why questions around ‘how can the charter move the district forward?’ is not a part of the criteria,” said Gentry, who has served as a school board member for 14 years. “I can’t ask whether the charter is solving a problem, academically, that I have. Is it solving a problem, culturally, that I have? Is it … addressing an issue of capacity for me? I can’t ask those questions. I can’t make a strategic decision about bringing in a charter.”
If a local school board denies an application and then later an appeal, a charter sponsor can appeal again to the state charter commission, which has the power to overrule local districts. If that happens, the district must decide whether or not it will authorize that charter — if not, the state commission must authorize. Schools looking to operate under the Achievement School District — a state-run district for priority schools — can apply straight to the charter commission.
“It’s pretty clear that the state charter school commission is operating under a directive to approve as many charter schools as possible,” District 3 school board representative Emily Masters tells the Scene.
This struggle for local control is at the heart of a long and loaded debate that has been playing out for years in Tennessee and across the country.
Tennessee’s initial charter schools started in Memphis and Nashville in 2003. At first, they were available only to certain students in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville. “The initial intention of charter schools was to fill gaps within public school systems,” says Masters. “It was also to create innovative replicable models, almost like a testing ground for some different strategies that can then be implemented in a wider, more far-reaching way.”
A 2011 law enabled any Tennessee student to attend a charter school. In the years since, charter growth significantly expanded, with more than 100 charter schools currently operating across Tennessee. While those schools have traditionally stayed within the state’s largest cities, they’re starting to trickle to other school districts.
Like most charter-related matters, this expansion has sparked waves of controversy. Earlier this year, Gov. Lee announced a partnership with conservative Michigan-based Hillsdale College to bring at least 50 charter schools to the state. Many opposed the additional charter schools from the start, but when NewsChannel 5 revealed a video of Hillsdale President Larry Arrn making disparaging comments about public school teachers, even more came out against the partnership. Some criticized Lee for not defending Tennessee’s teachers; even pro-charter Republicans disapproved of the potential partnership. Hillsdale-affiliated charter school applications that were denied in both Rutherford and Montgomery counties are now being appealed to the state commission — a decision that will be watched closely.
Throughout their history, charter schools have seen buy-in from both sides of the aisle. Nowadays, they mostly see support from Republicans and criticism from Democrats. Though politicians like Lee contend that charter schools are public schools, they don’t function in the same capacity as traditional public schools — they receive public funds, but they are run independently.
Critics argue that charters drain funds from public schools. “It is true that the money follows the student,” says MNPS chief financial officer Chris Henson. “But the costs don’t.” Critics also argue that charters cherry-pick their students, have high teacher turnover, are funded by deep-pocketed special-interest groups, and can be mismanaged more easily than public schools.
Take Knowledge Academies, which houses three charter schools on one campus. Its former leader was fired in 2019 for operating the school at a deficit, running side businesses from the school and having issues paying teachers (some of whom were unlicensed). The MNPS board voted to revoke the charter agreement, but the state board of education overturned that decision. This year, one of the Knowledge Academy schools sought to renew a contract that was set to expire in June. After a rocky application process that included an emergency amendment petition to consolidate all of Knowledge Academy’s charter schools, the MNPS board turned it down — but the state charter commission overruled that decision and charged the board with accepting it. The board discussed appealing the commission’s decision to a chancery court, but the majority voted against it.
While politics surrounding charters rage, most Tennessee students aren’t on track academically. Many families don’t care whether their children are attending a traditional public school or charter school as long as their kids can receive a quality education. The young supporters of the Tennessee Nature Academy all attended both traditional public schools and charter schools — including Knowledge Academy, where they met TNA co-founder Jay Renfro. The students mentioned how each format had its pros and cons — most saw more attention and felt like they were challenged academically at their charter school, for instance, but public schools had more extracurricular opportunities.
“I would like people to understand that when we’re awaiting decisions about charters, we are thinking about children,” says Masters. “I mean, if you are a child who lives in Metro Nashville Davidson County, it is my responsibility to ensure that you have access to a high-quality education, period.”
