Letters of intent submitted for 3 new charter schools in Buncombe County

Jason Sandford January 10, 2013

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

The Office of Charter Schools for North Carolina says the following have submitted a letter of intent to open a charter school in Asheville and Buncombe County. The deadline to submit a letter of intent was Jan. 4. Here are the schools, the location and the contact listed:

-Appalachian Heritage Academy/ Asheville City Schools/ Darcel Eddins/ [email protected]

-INVEST Collegiate/ Buncombe County/ Kate Alice Dunaway/ [email protected]

-The Franklin School of Innovation/ Buncombe County/ Michelle Vruwink/ [email protected]

What’s the latest when it comes to charter schools in North Carolina? The timesnews.com notes the letter of intent doesn’t mean a school is a done deal:

A recent procedure change for establishing new charter schools in North Carolina required interested parties to submit letters of intent to the Office of Charter Schools by last Friday, before ever actually submitting a public charter school application by March.

And newsobserver.com notes there’s a move to create online charter schools:

North Carolina children as young as 5 may soon be able to receive their public school education online from for-profit companies.

The State Board of Education plans to vote Thursday on a special application for virtual schools that want to run public charters and receive taxpayer money.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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1 Comment

Guy Newton January 11, 2013

I have mixed feelings about the whole charter school movement after my experience as the spouse of a founder of a charter school in Asheville. I do believe that we helped establish a very good school. I believe that the people involved are very good folks and give the students a wonderful education. I love the people, I love the school, and I love that they place an emphasis on social justice. However, there is a problem. The lack of funds for start-up costs and building expenses meant that the founders had to “put up their houses and nest eggs” as it has been described. The rules governing state employees were creatively blended with the rules and practices of non-profit organizations in a way that I did not understand. There was simply not enough transparency. What I have learned, in hindsight, is that any spouse of any employee of a charter school can be put into an extremely risky financial position that can affect your home equity and your “nest egg” without your consent. If you are the spouse of a charter school employee I can tell how to avoid what happened to me while still supporting the school in a proper way. e-mail: [email protected]

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