Days after losing another appeal, school said students must register elsewhere
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Graystone Academy Charter School in South Coatesville, which lost its charter, will not open during the 2013-14 school year, its web site said.
The promised public response last week from embattled Graystone Academy Charter School regarding its future never materialized, but the school web site finally changed its message on Monday.
“Graystone Academy will not be opening on Aug. 26, and we will not be open for operations during 2013/2014 School Year. All students and families must register in their new school as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact the main office at (610) 383-4311. We thank you for all of your commitment and support over the years,” the statement said.
A Commonwealth Court judge on Thursday denied the school’s bid to stay the revocation of its charter pending an appeal. The school had said it hoped to resume classes while attempting to persuade the appellate court that the Coatesville Area School District erred in its November 2011 decision to revoke Graystone’s charter, a decision affirmed on July 30 by the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeals Board.
But Commonwealth Court Judge Robert “Robin” Simpson, who heard about an hour of argument on the issue during a teleconference on Tuesday, issued a 10-page opinion in which he denied the request. Without a stay, the school could not reopen since it had no charter, a situation that affected more than 200 students. Attorneys said an appeal to the state Supreme Court was an option, but not one likely to succeed given the evidence.
In the opinion, Simpson wrote that Graystone failed to dispute three key findings by the appeals board: nine material violations of its charter, “subpar student performance scores,” and “late-filed audit reports.” The judge agreed with the school district that “any one of the three primary findings” constituted grounds for charter revocation.
“Arguably, granting a stay would subject the students of the charter school to another year of substandard education and delay their educational advancement,” the judge wrote.
A spokesman for Graystone said he expected a statement from the five-member board on Thursday – and then Friday. Then he stopped returning telephone calls and responding to emails.
A statement from the Coatesville Area School District said all Graystone students and parents would be contacted in the coming days and informed of this final ruling by the appellate court, and it said the district would work with them to ensure that each student was timely enrolled and appropriately placed for the 2013-2014 school year.
“The Coatesville Area School District welcomes these students with open arms and looks forward to long-term productive and successful academic relationships and outcomes with these returning members of the Coatesville family,” the statement said.
Anyone with questions regarding enrollment is invited to contact the CASD solicitor, James E. Ellison, at 484-889-1921, a district statement said.
