JONESBORO — During an Oct. 30 work session, the Clayton County Board of Education voted to deny a renewal petition for the 7 Pillars Career Academy charter school.
The School Board voted 6-0-1 with Jessie Goree, Mary Baker, Dee Haney, Sabrina Hill, Joy Tellis-Cooper, and Benjamin Straker voting to deny the petition while Jasmine Bowles abstained. Mark Christmas and Victoria Williams were absent from the work session.
The school sought to renew its charter petition for a second five-year term beginning in the 2024-25 school year and south to implement a high school for 700 students in grades 9 through 12.
According to the school system’s recommendation to the School Board, the original petition in September and a revised petition “were incomplete and lacked specificity and didn’t meet the minimal requirements as outlined by the state of Georgia that would help the reviewers ascertain if the petition could operate a school that was financially viable and was in the best interest of Clayton County.”
Several areas of concern from the original petition were financial goals and performance, academic performance, school governance, organizational plan, and community support and need.
In the revised petition, there were still areas of concern, including inadequate recruitment and retention plans, financial deficits and liabilities, misalignment in budget and enrollment projections, incomplete budget assumptions, inadequate plan for diverse learning needs, and lack of identified facility for expected growth.
“These weaknesses significantly undermine the governing board’s ability to guarantee the effective operation and fiscal sustainability of the charter school within Clayton County Public Schools,” the executive summary from the Oct. 30 meeting agenda packet read.
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