For three years, Governors State University Charter School has been the envy of south suburban school districts. Its pupils post some of the highest test scores in the area. Two dozen applicants sit on a waiting list. And officials recently broke ground on a $6 million, state-funded school building.
But in a stunning rebuke, the Crete-Monee District 201-U School Board, which holds the charter, voted last month to shut down the school at the end of the year. The reason: Crete-Monee officials felt Governors State University, which created the school and provides the curriculum and principal, has too much control.
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“If this is truly a partnership, which we thought it was, we should be part of the decision-making process,” said Crete-Monee Supt. Roberta Berry.
The decision to yank the license–the first time an Illinois school district has closed a successful charter school–represents a setback in the state’s already turbulent history of public school reform.
Charter schools were created by the General Assembly in 1996 to foster creative alternatives to public schools. They receive the money a public school would normally receive for each student they enroll but are free from most state regulations and traditional bureaucratic limits, such as teacher tenure.
Though state law allows 45 charter schools, only 23 have opened. Local school boards, which have the authority to deny or grant licenses, have rejected three-fourths of the 100 charter proposals that have come before them.
And last month, in an unprecedented move, members of the Illinois State Board of Education vetoed an appeal of a Rockford charter proposal, saying it would overburden the district’s already tight budget. It was the first time state board members rejected an appeal.
“The charter school movement has faced a hostile environment in Illinois, especially in the suburbs,” said Paul Seibert, director of Charter Consultants, a Belleville company that helps private entities launch charter schools. “The law is not set up to help them succeed. Local school districts, for the most part, have been loath to support them, and the State Board of Education hasn’t helped.”
Proponents say charter schools offer choices for parents and provide competition, which can force improvements in public education. Because charters are free from bureaucracy, they can be closed more quickly than other public schools.
Opponents argue that charters drain money from school districts and undercut union contracts.
Chicago has embraced the independent schools, handing out all 15 of the charters at its disposal. But suburban officials around Chicago have been less welcoming, rejecting 12 of 13 proposals. Governors State is the only charter school in the suburbs approved by the local school board.
Law called weak
Anna Varghese, a spokeswoman for the Center for Education Reform in Washington, said the Illinois charter law is one of the weakest because it gives local public school officials the power to grant and revoke licenses. Other states, such as Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, let colleges, mayors or city councils award charters.
“Most local school boards oppose charters because it takes power and control away from them,” said Varghese, whose group lobbies lawmakers across the country for education reform. “To set local boards up as the ones in control of granting charters seems ludicrous. Even a good charter school proposal has little chance under this setup.”
The revocation of the Governors State license is especially unnerving for reform proponents because the school was heartily embraced by Crete-Monee officials in the beginning.
Together, the university and the school district launched a kindergarten through 4th-grade elementary school in 2000, focusing on a teaching style developed in Italy. Pupils learn through small group activities rather than direct instruction, working cooperatively on team projects. They are grouped by abilities rather than age.
The charter school, which operates out of a school district building in Crete, has about 70 pupils.
Officials with Governors State College of Education provide expertise, and students in the university’s education program gain hands-on experience by helping the teachers.
A success story
Last year, the school was one of only two charters in Illinois where pupils exceeded state averages on every Illinois Standards Achievement Test at every grade level.
Despite the academic success, the school’s governance structure has been a source of contention.
The college and the district initially set up an independent five-person board to run the school. A few months before the school opened, however, university officials and former Crete-Monee Supt. Steve Humphrey signed an agreement giving college trustees governing power over that board.
Today, district officials say Humphrey did not have the authority to cede control. Roberta Berry, who replaced Humphrey last year, said the district’s board of education never voted on the issue, and therefore it is not binding.
Humphrey could not be reached for comment.
Charles Connolly, spokesman for Governors State, said the agreement is binding. He said the two sides made the switch, in part, because it’s cheaper for the university to provide the school’s liability insurance.
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The power issue has been a source of contention for at least two years, but it bubbled to the surface last year after the independent charter school board neglected to meet regularly, officials said. As a result, Governors State College of Education called most of the shots, both sides agree.
District and university officials have spent the last few months in a futile effort to resolve the power struggle. When negotiations reached a stalemate, Crete-Monee yanked the charter.
Berry said district officials do not have major complaints about how the school is being run but said there are some concerns. For instance, the school is supposed to offer foreign languages and year-round schooling, neither of which has occurred. She also complained that charter officials are not providing timely reports on pupil progress.
Connolly said the university has appealed the revocation to the State Board of Education.
The bickering between the district and university has been unpleasant for parents.
“We all are here voluntarily because we like what this school is doing for our children, and we can’t understand why they can’t get together and work this out like adults,” said Jane Kennedy, a Crete resident who has a daughter at the school. “They are not setting a very good example for the kids.”