By Sue Loughlin
At a time when state funding for public schools is being cut, does the Vigo County School Corp. want to take on the additional responsibility of sponsoring and monitoring a charter school?
That is one of the issues the School Board will need to consider as it decides whether to grant Gibault Inc.’s request that it sponsor a charter school, an Indianapolis attorney told the board Monday.
Chuck Rubright of Bose, McKinney and Evans is researching the matter for the district and board. He made a presentation Monday and answered board questions and is seeking additional information from Gibault.
The School Board is expected to make a decision at its Feb. 22 meeting, said Paul Lockhart, School Board president.
Rubright said only two Indiana school districts have sponsored public charter schools. The state has 53 charter schools, he said, and the school districts sponsor three of them. The rest are sponsored by either Ball State or the mayor of Indianapolis, he said.
After the meeting, he suggested one reason school districts might be reluctant to sponsor them is because of current state budget cuts. The Vigo County School Corp. faces $4.5 million in state funding cuts.
“Do you want to take on more responsibility?” Rubright said after the meeting. “We have responsibility to our own kids here.”
The school district also needs to assess what resources would be required to review, monitor and audit whether the charter school meets the academic goals and other objectives set forth in its charter.
Gibault’s proposal does not set forth the means by which the school district will conduct an annual audit, Rubright said. That is something the school district is now requesting as part of the proposal.
Another concern, Rubright said, is whether the charter could meet high standards of achievement. Charters have some flexibility from state regulations, but they “would be held to high standards of achievement,” Rubright said.
According to Rubright, Gibault staff say the average stay of their residents is six months or less and the majority of residents are special needs, Rubright said. For those reasons, the school and its students would likely have difficulty meeting high standards of achievement set forth by state and federal law.
“So should the school district agree to be a sponsor just because it gives them [Gibault] more money and then look the other way?” Rubright asked after the meeting.
The school district has asked for additional information related to Gibault’s special education population, he said. It also wants to contact those Indiana school districts that sponsor charter schools.
“We’re in a learning curve,” Rubright told the board.
The charter school would be on the Gibault campus. Gibault has cited state funding cuts as a reason it is pursuing the charter school, which would open up new funding opportunities, including state tuition support.
The school district has been researching legal options with regard to Gibault’s request, which it received around Dec. 17. By law, the district has 75 days to respond, which would be the first week of March.
Gibault can appeal to a state review panel, but Rubright noted that the panel has no authority to make any entity, including the Vigo County School Corp., sponsor a charter school.
Rita Kaperak, who spoke during a public comment period, said she is “100 percent” in favor of the school district sponsoring a Gibault charter school.
She has a daughter who attended a day program at Gibault and now is a resident there. She said her daughter, who has Asperger’s syndrome, is thriving at Gibault and is now making honor roll; her daughter was not successful in Vigo County public schools. Asperger’s syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder.
If the charter doesn’t go through, she wants to know if the school district is prepared to accept and accommodate Gibault’s residents, who now number about 70.
She believes a charter “is a win-win for the corporation and for Gibault.”
Michele Madley, executive director of Gibault’s Terre Haute campus, said after the meeting that Gibault understands that a public charter school must follow federal and state accountability regulations as far as Public Law 221 and Adequate Yearly Progress.
Under Public Law 221, Summit Academy would be placed into categories but it would be exempt from consequences, she said.
Representatives of Gibault and the school district met Monday afternoon. “They asked questions I’d expect someone to ask when seeking clarification about our proposal,” Jim Sinclair, Gibault’s chief executive officer, said earlier Monday.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
