School Board Passes Resolution in Opposition to Denied Charter School

The Lacey Township Board of Education passed a resolution at Monday’s meeting opposing the application of the Creative Studies Charter School, which was recently denied by the state Department of Education.

“Tonight, in continuance of the effort we started, we’re going to pass a resolution opposing the charter,” President Jack Martenak said. “It has been denied but we need to keep an eye on the issue.”

The charter school, which would integrate arts with academics, , the same day the Lacey Township School District submitted an appeal to the state.

Pamela Brown, founder of Creative Studies, has the right to appeal the state’s denial and can reapply next year, Martenak said.

“We’ll see if that happens or not,” he said. “We’re going to monitor the situation. It is an issue of great concern for the school board of Lacey. We’re going to stay on top of it.”

The school board , he said.

“We found, in addition, that the Lacey Township School District meets the needs of our students,” Martenak said. “If you look at the standards, I think we do quite a good job of doing that.”

The resolution notes the following:

• Lacey Township provides an excellent education and is considered a high performing district.
• Students perform well on state and local educational assessments consistently.
• The schools scored high on the New Jersey State Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) review.
• The financial impact on the district would necessitate the elimination of programs and an increase in class sizes.

The school district found that not only were there conflicts in the application, but the curriculum failed to address New Jersey Core Content Standards, among other issues.

Also, since state aid is tied to enrollment, with 150 students leaving the school district for just the first year of Creative Studies, the school district was likely to lose $1.6 million in funding.

“I have stated before and I will share again this evening that Lacey Township School District is a high achieving school district,” Superintendent Sandra Brower said. “It is meeting the needs of its students academically, artistically, emotionally and socially through a wide variety of opportunities and offerings that are available to all the students here in Lacey.”

The potential for a charter school in Lacey gave administration the chance to “take stock” of where the school district stands with art programs, Brower said.

“I’m very proud of what I was able to glean during that short period of time,” she said.

While the school district will continue to “support choice,” Lacey Township isn’t fit for a charter school, she said.

Resident Regina Discenza asked the school board to meet with Brown to find out what she is looking for in teaching style and why she sees a need for a charter school in Lacey Township.

The school district did try to reach out to Brown but they didn’t receive a response, Martenak said.

Martenak pointed out that the application was not necessarily submitted by a disgruntled parent who was dissatisfied with the education their child was receiving in Lacey.

In fact, Brown is not a resident of Lacey Township and does not have a child attending Lacey schools, which is a requirement of establishing a charter school, he said.

“This person has applied to several places,” he said. “It looks like this individual is trying to start what’s known now in the charter school world as a “boutique charter school” focused on art education.”

Vice President Eric Schubeger thanked Brower and school district administration for a “quick turnaround” in tackling the charter school issue. 

Brower had been with the Lacey Township School District for less than a month when the charter school application was placed on her desk.

The school district formed a Charter School Educational Review Committee which included: Sue Hutler, Jeff Brewer, Ann Dezendorf, Michelle Amos, Mary Esch, Vanessa Clark, James Savage and Brower.

The committee’s role was to read the application page by page and provide feedback. Within a week, they had submitted their letter of opposition to the state.

“I think that was important,” he said. “It showed some unity in how we felt about the situation and that’s a good indication of how we’re going to operate here. I’m pleased to see that.”