Afro Urban Institute gets reprieve

Late Tuesday night, the MPS Innovation and School Reform committee voted 3-2 to give the Afro Urban Institute another three months to improve. Voting against more time for this charter school were Ken Johnson and Larry O'Neill. Voting for more time were Tom Balistreri, Jennifer Morales and board president Peter Blewett. Charlene Hardin, not a member of the committee, gave a fist-pounding speech in favor of the school and denouncing the superintendent.

This school has clearly been a "disaster," to use Morales' description. At the most basic level, for instance, it has claimed far more students than actually attend. Thus the vote to further extend the time allowed the school is a vote against holding charter schools accountable.

In that light, the line-up is ironic. Ken Johnson has been a strong supporter of charter schools. By contrast, neither Morales, Balistreri, Blewett, nor Hardin are generally viewed as strong charter school advocates, in part because of their dependence on the teachers' union and in part for ideological reasons.

Update: By votes of 5-3, the board voted to pull the measure out of committee and terminate the charter. This is good news for all those who believe that charter schools should be accountable. Voting to terminate were Ken Johnson, Jeff Spence, Joe Dannecker, Barbara Horton, and Larry O'Neill. Voting to continue the school were Peter Blewett, Charlen Hardin, and Tom Balistreri. Jennifer Morales did not attend the meeting but had earlier indicated her support for continuing the charter.