Alabama state Superintendent Eric Mackey says the Montgomery Education Foundation will be allowed to open the county’s first charter school system and take over four area public schools.
The Montgomery Advertiser reports Mackey publicly announced the approval Thursday. Mackey is the head of the Montgomery school district while it is under state intervention, allowing him and not the school board to authorize the charter.
The foundation applied to form the charter in March, and interim state Superintendent Ed Richardson tentatively approved it in May, pending further review.
The foundation now must sign a five-year county contract requiring it to meet certain benchmarks. The public school system will be able to close the charter schools if the benchmarks are not met.
Alabama approved charter schools in 2015, and there are currently only two throughout Alabama.
(Associated Press, copyright 2018)
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