T-U BOE OPPOSED TO CHARTER SCHOOL

 TU BOE Opposes Charter School to Serve Upson & Bibb Counties

At the Tuesday, April 25, called meeting, the Thomaston-Upson Board of Education voted unanimously to deny the Charter School Application submitted by Utopian Academy for the Arts (UAFA): Macon-Bibb and to express their opposition to the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia (SCSC of GA). According to the charter application submitted by UAFA: Macon-Bibb, the school would be located in Upson County with proposed attendance zones to include Upson County and Bibb County. It would be an all-male, gender-based school environment serving young men in grades 6-8 and offering classes in the dramatic, media, and creative arts as a supplement to the core curriculum. According to the UAFA: Macon-Bibb charter application, the prospective address for the school is 100 McIntosh Parkway, Thomaston, GA.

The Thomaston-Upson School System’s denial of the request means that the decision to grant or deny a charter to Utopian Academy for the Arts: Macon-Bibb will be made by SCSC of GA. SCSC is Georgia’s state-level, independent charter school authorizing board, established in 2012 with the passage of HB 797. According to the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia’s website, SCSC “seeks to improve public education throughout the state by authorizing high-quality charter schools that provide students with better educational opportunities than they would otherwise receive in traditional district schools”. In the letter of opposition to be submitted to SCSC, Thomaston-Upson Schools bases its opposition to the charter school upon three crucial areas of concern: educational opportunities & academic evidence; community need & community support; and the unexplainable choices of physical location and attendance zones. The Thomaston-Upson School System writes in the letter, “It is our position that Utopian Academy for the Arts: Macon-Bibb would not provide Thomaston-Upson County students with ‘better educational opportunities’ than they currently receive at Upson-Lee Middle School.” The letter provides data and other information supporting this statement made by TU Schools.

(A copy of the letter of opposition is attached.)

Funding for state charter schools comes from the state. State charter school students earn Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula funding, like all Georgia public school students, and State Charter School Supplement funding.