July 31, 2023

BY OLIVIA ADAMS
Main Street Maury

By a final vote of 6-5, the Maury County School Board rejected on Thursday, July 27 a proposal by American Classical Academy to establish a charter school, which would have been the first in Maury County.

The Maury County School Board rejected a proposal by the American Classical Academy to establish a Charter School in a final vote of 6-5. FILE PHOTO

The special called meeting came just over a week after the board deferred its decision due to the absence of two members.

The application was first denied in April, with the board voting 6-5 against the proposal, citing concerns over transportation, finances and services for special populations, among others. ACA was granted the option to appeal the decision and submit an amended application within 30 days, with the committee given 60 days to review the application and bring it back to the board.

“This has been something that’s a divisive issue across our state and across our nation and here we were thrown together, basically 11 strangers from different ways of thinking to pull this together and determine what’s best for the students of Maury County,” Chairman Michael Fulbright said.

“Each of us have different views of what that is, but I have no doubt that there are 11 people up here and a room full of people who only want the best for the children of Maury County.”

Fulbright made a motion to approve the amended application, which ultimately failed due to lack of support. A motion was then made by Vice Chair Bettye Kinser to deny, which passed 6-5.

Kristen Shull, Laura Nutt, Jackson Carter, Fulbright and Austin Hooper voted in favor of ACE’s application, while Jamila Brown, Steve McGee, Will Sims, Wayne Lindsey, Marlina Ervin and Kinser voted to reject.

In a statement released last Thursday following the vote, American Classical Education board member Dolores Gresham said the school board sided with special interests instead of local students.

“It denied a high-quality classical public charter school for local families – a school that would bring time-tested instruction including phonics as an option to a community struggling with the continued illiteracy of its students,” Gresham said.

Gresham also doubled down on claims that the committee plagiarized its report. Shortly after the board’s initial denial, ACA officials accused the district’s charter review committee of copying lines from other counties’ reports.

“This decision is all the more frustrating because the Maury charter review committee plagiarized other non-publicly available reviews from other school districts. The board should have done such important work in light of the needs of Maury families – instead, they copied others,” Gresham said.

Gresham added that the local ACE Maury Board is evaluating whether to file an appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

“We stand with the hundreds of Maury County families that have voiced their desire for a tuition-free public school with a classical curriculum,” the statement concluded.

If ACE goes forward with the appeal, the state has 75 days to provide a decision.