Mountain Ed charter school future uncertain

The clock is ticking down as state lawmakers, local school boards, and the Mountain Education Charter High School scramble to address the implications of a bill signed into law by Governor Kemp on May 4, 2021.
That legislation, titled Georgia Senate Bill 153, requires state chartered special schools to transition into locally authorized alternative charter schools. This means that existing alternative schools, like the one found locally at Mountain View Drive, whose charters expire must now be authorized by the individual school systems in which they operate, rather than by a state-wide entity.
“If, during the upcoming legislative session, legislation is not passed and signed by the governor into law, we would cease to exist on June 30, 2023,” said MECHS Director of Community Outreach Roger Fitzpatrick.
Employees at MECHS, which is based out of White County but also has a campus serving non-traditional students in Lumpkin County, have expressed concerns about how the shake-up in governance structure mandated by the new law could reduce access to student services in some counties, or potentially even stop them altogether.
MECHS has been in operation since 2007, when it was initially established as a state chartered special school. Then, in 2013, MECHS was approved for a 10-year charter by the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. The latter arrangement was particularly beneficial, not only because of the considerable length of the charter period, but because authorization under the GCSC gave MECHS access to additional charter school supplement funds which augment the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) funds received by both public schools and charter schools.
These funds are a crucial part of MECHS operations, because charter schools do not have the authority to raise taxes in order to be able to fully fund their students. While Lumpkin County public school students receive FTE funds, they are also supported by the millage rate of local property taxes.
A funding shortfall resulting from the implementation of the new law could be particularly impactful for MECHS and its sister schools, because by law Georgia does not provide FTE funding for high school students over the age of 21 (22 if the students are special needs). These non-traditional adults partly comprise the student body served by the charter schools program, as it currently operates.
The charter previously granted by GCSC is set to expire on June 30, 2023, setting up a scramble by MECHS administrators to anticipate what structural changes may be needed in order to get their charter updated, and preserve their unique educational model.
  According to Fitzpatrick, the charter system as it existed prior to the passage of SB 153 “gave us flexibility to do things differently, so we could meet the needs of all our students.”
However, under the new legislation, MECHS “may not petition the State Charter School Commission again,” as they successfully did in 2013.
Unless adjustments to SB 153 are passed by lawmakers during the window of the 2023 Legislative Session (from January 9 to March 30), authorization from local school boards will be the only way to keep MECHS in operation going forward.
‘“We are currently working through the process required by this piece of legislation,” Fitzpatrick said. “At the same time, we are working in our communities and advocating. We think we are doing a fantastic service in the communities in which we operate, helping these students that for whatever reason have dropped out of school. We are open to whatever tweaks are necessary, but we feel it would be best for the communities we serve to operate within the current framework.”
In essence, Fitzpatrick said that if lawmakers don’t act there may no longer be an MECHS in Lumpkin County and other North Georgia communities.

DEADLINE DILLEMA

That conclusion is based on the fact that, as it currently stands, no local school systems have publicly committed to authorizing MECHS.
“We are currently operating in 18 counties. We have reached out to the school systems in the 18 counties in which we currently operate. As of today, none have indicated that they would be able to [locally authorize], Lumpkin County being one of them,” Fitzpatrick explained.
Lumpkin County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rob Brown, who serves alongside several other school superintendents on the MECHS board, says he is fully aware of the complications presented by SB 153 and is working hard to find a solution.
“This is a topic which has consumed a great deal of my time since last March when MEC leadership informed our MECHS board members of the impact that the 2021 legislation would have on the program,” he stated. “Unfortunately, this information came too late in the 2022 legislative session to initiate legislation which would change the impact of SB153 last year. Since that time, we (local superintendents) have been searching for answers to many questions to have clarity on what it would mean for the Lumpkin County BOE (or any other local BOE) to authorize a new charter, how the funding would work, how the accountability would work, etc. Unfortunately, very few answers have been found.”
The text of SB153 states that a "study of alternative education models and funding shall include alternative charter schools and state support of such schools. Such study shall occur during 2021 and 2022 and shall conclude with a recommendation to the General Assembly regarding alternative education models and funding."

‘AN ADULT PROBLEM’

On August 24, 2022, lawmakers from the Georgia House Education Working Group heard statements from representatives of MECHS, Foothills, and Coastal Plains charter schools, as well as some past and present local school superintendents, about how the law could negatively affect future charter school operations. Some of the charter school administrators in attendance expressed concern that school boards and superintendents might not fully appreciate their efforts to bolster local graduation rates. State House Rep. Will Wade, from District 9, reacted to those claims with skepticism.
“I really think you’re not allowing for a good concerted conversation with your superintendents to come up with a solution,” he said. “And all this is my opinion derived from this meeting today. I know superintendents. I know school board members in every single one of the schools that you serve on. I’ve never heard those schools say that Mountain Ed. is not meeting the needs of those specific students because of the issues that your presentation laid out. It’s an adult problem, and I suggest you figure it out. The state’s not saying we’re walking away. We’re going to fund FTE. That’s a big number. It’s the highest number it’s ever been in this state’s history.”
Although there seems to be no lack of goodwill towards MECHS and their overall mission to educate non-traditional students, it is the precise details of the new governance structure that appear to be a possible sticking point for local school boards. SB 153 does not supply any ready-made solutions to these problems, instead choosing to set a hard deadline for conversion in order to encourage negotiation between the affected parties.
“We’ve set in statute a timeline so that a resolution can be made,” said Wade. “You know I work with a lot of closing attorneys, and there’s nothing like the last minute to get things done to close a deal. And that sets up the stage for ‘necessity is the mother of invention.”
Fitzpatrick says that, despite the risk of seeing their funding effectively reduced under the terms of a new charter, “it is not about funding, it’s about how we would be able to operate.”
“We are an independent school system. We decide ourselves where the money goes. Under this legislation, we will cease to be an independent school. It’s taken us awhile to wrap our heads around what’s going on,” Fitzpatrick added.
Brown is now actively engaged with state legislators in a last-ditch effort to find a potential legislative fix to the problem during the current session. However, if those talks to do not ultimately come to fruition, it will be up to the public and charter school boards to resolve remaining issues such as funding levels.
“In my experience working on this issue, current Speaker Jan Jones, Education Chairman Matt Dubnik, Vice-Chairman Chris Erwin, Senator Steve Gooch, and Representative Will Wade have all been clearly focused on finding solutions that will continue to serve students in nontraditional settings like MEC. Some changes are necessary, but I believe there is a path forward for MEC to continue serving students and I believe we will know exactly what it looks like in the coming months,” Brown said.