All-boys charter school is denied

by Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia - The Philadelphia School Reform Commission turned down a proposal for an all-boys charter high school yesterday, but proponents say they intend to press their case that such a charter school is legal.

David P. Hardy, one of the founders of the proposed Southwest Philadelphia Academy for Boys Charter School, said the founders would enlist more lawyers to try to persuade the commission to reconsider their application.

"It is not over," Hardy said after the vote. "This issue pretty much hinges on the law and who's right. We believe we are right."

The commission approved three other charter school applications yesterday. But because of the district's budget constraints, commission members said they want to delay their openings until the fall of 2007.

The 4-0 vote to deny an application for the proposed Academy for Boys, which would offer a rigorous college-prep program and four years of Latin, came one week after leaders from the Women's Law Project in Center City urged commissioners to reject the proposal on the grounds that a single-sex charter school would violate state and federal law.

The Education Law Center, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania also opposed the plan. The law groups said they might sue if the commission granted the charter.

Attorneys for the proposed boys' charter have maintained that such a school would be legal. There are 42 single-sex public schools across the country, including three in Philadelphia.

Commission members said concern about the legality of a single-sex charter school was not the only reason they rejected the application from Hardy's group. They said the proposal failed to meet the 3.0 cut-off score during a review process by a district panel that evaluated all the applications. The panel considered 11 areas, including the proposals' legality.

"There were other issues," commission member Daniel Whelan said after the meeting. "Their scoring fell short of the cut point."

But Hardy said it was clear that low marks in the legal and equity areas were behind the application's 2.8 score.

"We got terrible legal scores," Hardy said. "That tells you right where it was."

The group had said it might consider opening an independent boys' school if the charter application were denied, but Hardy said the group's primary interest is opening a charter school.

He said his group would try to persuade the commission to return to the issue in coming weeks instead of resubmitting an application in the fall and starting the process anew.

"Immediately, we're going to put together our response to this and address those specific legal issues that are of concern to commission members," Hardy said. "Then the ball is going to be in their court."

Among the three charters approved by the commission was the Pan American Charter School, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school affiliated with Congreso de Latinos Unidos Inc., a community organization. The charter, which will be in West Kensington, will stress cultural awareness and enroll 381 students its first year.

TrueBright Science Academy Charter School, for grades seven through 12, will open with 200 students in Olney. Founded by a group of local professors and scientists, the charter will focus on science and technology and plans to provide students with laptops.

Southwest Leadership Academy, teaching kindergarten through eighth grade, will focus on leadership and character. The school, which will open with 208 students, is affiliated with Victory Schools Inc. Members of the charter board include former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. and State Rep. Ronald D. Waters (D., Phila.).

The district estimates that the new charter schools will add $4 million to the district's charter costs, budgeted at $177.8 million for 55 charter schools this year.

"We are approving them for opening in September of 2007, with the option of opening in 2006," Paul Vallas, the district's chief executive, said.

He said staffers would meet with representatives from the three charters this week and next to determine whether the delay would hurt their plans.

In all, 10 groups filed applications to open new charter schools. Six of the proposals received enough points during initial screenings to advance to public hearings that were held in November.

Contact staff writer Martha Woodall at 215-854-2789 or martha.woodall@phillynews.com.