Board Expected to Vote Against Charter School Today

Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education is expected to vote against the proposed Seneca Creek Charter School during its Thursday morning business meeting in Rockville.

The vote comes after former superintendent Jerry D. Weast and his successor Joshua Starr wrote separate memos to board members recommending against the education center. Both Starr and Weast acted on recommendations of a review panel consisting of representatives of the Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher Associations and experts in special education, curriculum and instructional programs, and employee associations.

Seneca Creek would have been the first public charter school in Germantown. Currently, there are no public charter schools in Montgomery County.

The school board is also expected to vote on whether to approve or deny the application for Community Montessori Public Charter School in Kensington — an application that Weast had the board approve.

The Montgomery County public school system received applications for the Seneca Creek in the beginning of April. There were three prior meetings to review the application process, discuss academic and governance for applicants and a last one on facilities, finance and operations.

Seneca Creek founders proposed using the environment as an integrating tool for learning, with a concentration on outdoor studies and community engagement. Reviewers said that although the focus on the environment was an intriguing idea, there were concerns regarding students with disabilities, daily operations and size, and security of the location.

“The simplicity of the applicant’s solutions often belied the complexity of the issues presented,” Weast wrote on the memo. “Given that much of the instructional time is intended to be spent outdoors, the applicant’s plan for ensuring access for students with physical limitations and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requirements was the use of a golf cart.” 

At a prior board meeting, two founders of Seneca Creek Charter School answered questions and addressed concerns raised by board of education members. They said the board members misunderstood their intentions and rushed into judgment.

“We would like to reiterate what we have said in the application, and in our previous testimony that we look forward to working through any justified concerns and making adaptations to our plans as necessary,” the founders wrote in a testimony submitted to the board.

Despite a question and answer session, public and individual petitions to the board, former superintendent of schools remained unconvinced that the founders could run a school. 

“It is clear that despite the earnestness of their effort and the potential appeal of the concept, the applicant is simply not equipped to operate a school,” Weast wrote in the memo.