Nashville Says No to More KIPPs

On Tuesday the Nashville Metro School Board voted to deny two new KIPP corporate reform schools in Nashville.  

Some school board members noted the type of punishing pedagogy that KIPP imposes, which no middle class parent would ever allow, and others noted the financial drain on the public system that pays almost $10,000 per student per year to KIPP, Inc.

This courageous act represents a turning point in the proliferation of the abusive segregated miseducation that goes on in the No Excuses charter reform schools.  

Thank you, Metro school board, for leading the way.

Story from the Tennessean:

The Metro school board denied KIPP Nashville further operations in the district after a split vote Tuesday.

Both schools up for consideration were rejected during a called special meeting in a 5-4 vote. Board members Tyese Hunter, Sharon Gentry, Mary Pierce and Elissa Kim dissented.

The consideration of the two applications was part of a continuation of a debate that caused a standstill among board members last week. Gentry, the board chairwoman, was absent from the Aug. 11 meeting.

Both KIPP Nashville schools were recommended for approval by the district's charter review committees after a second submission process. The committee that recommended the charter the second time came under fire by board member Will Pinkston.

Board member Jo Ann Brannon, however, defended the process this week but voted against the two recommendations, serving as the swing vote that denied the two schools. She said the board needs to come up with a plan for charters in the district before approving additional operators.

That could prove easier now that a major point of contention has been solved by Interim Director of Schools Chris Henson. During the meeting, Henson, who also is the district's finance officer, provided a breakdown of the fiscal impact of the two charter schools on the district.

According to the fiscal analysis, the two schools won't create a negative balance for the district's operating budget, but are an investment.

While board members Jill Speering and Amy Frogge voted against the schools based on perceived practices of the schools, Pinkston said it was the fiscal impact he was most worried about. He added there are open seats KIPP Nashville still has to fill at its existing schools. . .