State Commission Recommends Closing Cherokee Charter Academy

CCA is running a “Save Our School!” campaign ahead of the Wednesday vote.

Update (2/28): The State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia voted 4-1 to accept the staff recommendation. CCA will close at the end of June.

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After several challenging years including budget shortfalls and shakeups on its governing board, the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia staff recommends that Cherokee Charter Academy shut its doors at the end of the school year. The SCSC Board of Commissioners will vote on the recommendation on Wednesday, February 28th.

Cherokee Charter Academy operates as a tuition-free public charter school that accepts all students and offers an alternative learning environment for students from kindergarten through eighth grade since it first opened in 2011. Like other charter schools in the state, it receives public funding for each student but operates with more flexibility than public schools. CCA students wear school uniforms, are separated into “Houses” (much like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series), and stands out from traditional school in other ways. Like all other charter schools in the state, it must go through a renewal process every five years (and was granted an extra one-year extension because of the pandemic). Unfortunately the SCSC states that Cherokee Charter does not meet the criteria for renewal based on the following categories:

Academic Performance. CCA has only met academic standards in two out of the past ten years. “Cherokee Charter has trailed the comparison schools by about ten points in Content Mastery for both grade bands every year of the charter term, meaning Cherokee Charter Academy students are not mastering grade-level content at the same rate as students in the schools they would otherwise attend.” The document notes that CCA’s middle school students showed improvement, but that 71% of the school’s students are in the elementary grades.

Financial Performance. Concerns have risen in recent years about the financial stewardship and abrupt resignations from the CCA board. The Georgia SCSC notes the school’s financial score took a sharp dive in the current fiscal year. Enrollment has gone down with currently less than 600 students attending CCA, reducing funding for a future fiscal year. Financial monitoring shows a declining cash balance and the most recent audit shows that the school’s liabilities are higher than its assets—with long-term liabilities increasing by about $5.5 million in the current fiscal year. “When asked in the renewal interview about the cause of the large increase, no one could speak to it, indicating a lack of capacity by board members and school leadership to manage funds appropriately.” The school’s largest debt is a $17 million lease to Red Apple Development (a subsidiary of the school’s Educational Service Provider, Charter Schools USA), broken down into payments that have steadily increased each budget year—from $1.29 million in 20-21, $1.42 million in 22-23, and up to $1.48 million in the current fiscal year (nearing a 15% increase in only three years), with only a private grant of $687,734 from CSUSA put the operating budget at a net zero. (This is a grant in which any surplus must be repaid.)

Operational Performance. CCA consistently met operational performance standards in previous years, but things seem to have gone downhill. The past two years has seen tremendous shakeup in the board—including founding members and the longtime chair—and has not met its legal requirements for governance training. CCA was late in submitting budgets and surveys related to Covid relief funds. The school also wasn’t following its own rules for purchases and didn’t provide an action plan to fix the issue.

Cherokee Charter has been reaching out to parents by phone, email, and in the carpool line with a “Save Our School!” campaign hoping to influence Wednesday’s vote. Principal April Wallis asks parents to contact the commissioners by email and phone, to contact local legislators, and to send the local newspaper positive messages about the school. The most unusual step is that the first 225 students and/or parents to sign up are automatically approved for a field trip to Atlanta to attend the session and potentially impact the final decision.

Local parents have posted mixed reactions on social media:

• “I've had/have 4 kids go to CCA. We absolutely love it here. It is a perfect fit for our family. Is it perfect? No, of course not. But none of the schools really are. This school is more than just a school, it's a family here. I will be so sad and heartbroken if they choose to close this school.”

• “My child attended CCA for two years, up until last year and we did not have a good experience either year. And they are horrendous for kids that have extra needs/ IEP/ special needs, from what I experienced and many other parents I know as well. That was a very stressful two years.”

• “I removed my children from CCA and it was a difficult transition as they were all behind and had to play catch up. The school isn't meeting academic standards. You may witness what we went through if the school shuts down and your child is forced to attend public school.”

• “My son attended CCA for 7 years in advanced classes and is now striving equally in CCSD advanced classes. We love & miss our CCA family & are so thankful for the strong foundation/knowledge/support they provided. Prayers for this school to get all the support they need - not everyone has to love it but we sure did!”

It is likely the SCSC Board of Commissioners will vote based on the recommendation: “SCSC staff recommends that the SCSC Board of Commissioners non-renew the charter contract for Cherokee Charter Academy. Cherokee Charter Academy will cease operation as a state charter school effective June 30, 2024.”