After much ado, the St. Mary’s Board of Education finally forwarded design of the Chesapeake Public Charter School to the Maryland Department of Education after Chief Operating Officer Bradley Clements made an impassioned presentation at a recent meeting.
Board Member Gary Kessler moved the resolution, seconded by member Mary Washington, amid reservations voiced by Board Chair Dr. Sal Raspa and former board chair Cathy Allen.
Both Kessler and Washington seemed favorably inclined to the CPCS, while Bill Mattingly also gave his conditional support with a fiat that concerns of the board need to be addressed in due course of time.
“The State Highway Administration indicated they have approved the entrance,” Clements informed the board, removing one of the main sticking points. He also said the CPCS has addressed key issues over the design of the security vestibule and doors specification to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“What does the approval really mean?” Raspa asked, to which Clements responded, “I know that you are not in concurrence on the site.” Clements explained the reservations of the board on many issues could be communicated to the state.
As anxiety-ridden CPCS representative Stacy Maffei looked on, Clements moved that the board forward the design development and construction documents to the Maryland Department of Education as submitted by Chesapeake Public Charter School under the approval of a registered architect and site engineer as reviewed by St. Mary’s County Government. Maffei did not come to the podium.
Unlike the agitation seen during the February meeting, the mood of the board was sedate in spite of Raspa’s muffled protests. It was clear the state wanted the local board not to further delay the decisions in a process that would see the school system part with as much as $1.3 million of much needed funds.
Land Use and Growth Management Director Denis Canavan played a key role in sorting out most of the issues between the CPCS and the Board of Education.
Allen told The Bay Net, “One could gather that there’s political pressure, based on decisions that are coming down from the state board as well as the Maryland State Department of Educations.”
Allen said while site safety was a major concern, there were other issues that the St. Mary’s Board of Education tried to address. “Legislation makes it clear that a charter school is still a public school and some areas can not be waived and safety is an issue that can not be waived,” Allen said.
According to published reports, the public charter schools are hot favorites for parents in Baltimore City that has 16 such schools. The compact size of the schools, their community-orientation and progressive teaching methods are making charter schools mushroom all over Maryland.
Other than the 16 schools in Baltimore city, there are two in Anne Arundel County, three in Prince George’s County and one each in Harford and Frederick counties.
The Chesapeake Charter Public Schools is among nine new schools that will open in the fall. Public response to charter schools have mostly been positive.
Immediately after the approval motion, Clements chaperoned Maffei out for crucial paper w