Already approved in Rutherford County, Hillsdale-affiliated charter network tries again in Madison, Maury counties
It seems American Classical Education, a charter school network affiliated with Hillsdale College, is not satisfied with having a charter school in just one Tennessee district.
Tennessee Lookout reports:
American Classical Education, a Hillsdale College-affiliated charter school network, resubmitted amended applications in two of four counties that denied it earlier this year.
School boards in Madison and Maury counties have until July 28 to review American Classical Education’s latest revision to its charter school applications.
The Maury County School board will vote on the new applications at July 18 meeting. While school officials with the Jackson-Madison County School System said, its board would hold a special-called meeting before the July deadline to deny or approve the resubmitted application.
The network won approval of a charter school to open in Rutherford County in 2024.
However, school boards in Madison, Maury, Montgomery, and Robertson rejected the Hillsdale applications.
In Maury County, the initial vote was 6-5 against Hillsdale. So, if the charter backers can simply switch one vote, they could see approval of a second Tennessee charter school.
Here’s what the Mayor of Maury County’s largest city has to say about Hillsdale:
Winning a second (and possibly third) charter school could put Hillsdale well on the way to the 50 charter schools Bill Lee promised in his 2022 State of the State Address.
And if the local school boards don’t approve the appeals, Hillsdale can still appeal to the State Charter Commission, whose members have all been appointed by Lee.
Why does Hillsdale want so desperately to operate charter schools in the Volunteer State? Money.
The charter network would be financed by state education funds and local property tax dollars – both enriching Hillsdale and driving up education costs for local school systems.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport