Commonwealth Court judge will rule on whether charter school can reopen
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
A decision in the long-running dispute between Graystone Academy Charter School and the Coatesville Area School District is expected by Thursday, attorneys on both sides said.
On Tuesday, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert “Robin” Simpson heard about an hour of argument over whether or not to stay Graystone’s charter revocation as the school appeals a July 30 ruling by the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeals Board, a ruling that upheld the Coatesville Area School District’s November 2011 decision to revoke Graystone’s charter.
The judge said he would issue a decision by Thursday, the attorneys said. Without a stay of the revocation, Graystone will be unable to open its doors on Aug. 26, affecting about 272 students.
Brian Leinhauser, the solicitor for the charter school, has said the school strongly disputes the findings of both the school district and the appeals board. James Ellison, the Coatesville district solicitor, has said that the district, which pays millions of dollars a year in tuition subsidies to Graystone, has been trying to close the school for several years because it repeatedly failed to provide the education it promised, a conclusion that the appeals board affirmed in a detailed, 61-page report.
To read the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeals Board’s decision, visit http://www.coatesville.k12.pa.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/CAB%20GraystoneOp%208-2-13.pdf.
