NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville School Board members voted Tuesday night to revoke the charter of Knowledge Academies, which operates three schools in Antioch.
The school board wants to close Knowledge Academy, KA at the Crossings and Knowledge High School at the end of this semester. But the charter school says it plans to appeal that decision to the Tennessee Board of Education. Right now approximately 750 students attend the three schools.
The board voted unanimously to revoke the charter at all three schools. A second motion to close the schools effective December 19, 2019 passed by a 6-2 vote.
School officials said the decision came after months of investigation by the district’s Office of Charter Schools, which identified a series of financial, academic and operational concerns. They were listed as the following:
- Knowledge Academies signed a management agreement with Nobel Education Initiative without communicating with the district, an action that constituted a material change in the contract and would require a contract amendment.
- Knowledge Academies failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward the performance expectation set forth in the charter agreement.
- Knowledge Academies failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management.
- Knowledge Academies may appeal the board’s decision to the state Board of Education, and they have 10 calendar days to do so. The state Board of Education would have 60 days to conduct a review, which would include a public hearing.
If the schools are forced to close - it could mean an influx of students to Antioch Middle School - a school that is already overcrowded and on the state's list of lowest performing schools. It will likely be months before a final decision on the schools future is made.
