EDITORIAL: Macon Charter Academy takes necessary steps to save itself
Everyone has been watching the situation at Macon Charter Academy with horror and hope. Horror that something so anticipated could go so wrong so quickly and require the Bibb Board of Education to investigate and create a long list of issues that needed immediate attention followed by the state Department of Education's action to put the school on probation. All of this in the first academic quarter of its first school year of operation.
The hope was dimmed when MCA's building wasn't ready for the start of school — something the founders and administration should have anticipated. The children ended up at the Macon Coliseum for three weeks. Even that was not handled professionally.
Parents were told the first day of school (Aug. 3) would be held in the Coliseum as would the next three days. The new building, they said, would be ready for an open house Aug. 9. However, the building superintendent for Triangle Construction had already told this newspaper the building wouldn't be turned over for occupation until Aug. 17. Even then, it would take time for workers to move in equipment and for inspections. The building finally opened Aug. 24. A month later, Sept. 29, the school was put on probation by the state and now sits in danger of having its charter terminated.
However, the board (Macon Charter Academy has its own board of directors separate from the Bibb County Board of Education) of the school has started taking decisive action to correct the issues noted by the state and the Bibb BOE. Some of the teachers had their salaries unexpectedly cut. Those have been restored, but some teachers, students and staff have already left the school and enrollment has suffered.
The process of getting a charter school approved, while difficult, does not compare with the complexities of running a school. Building a school from the ground up is also complicated, but by no means as intricate as complying with the rules and regulations for operating a public school — and that's exactly what Macon Charter Academy is.
The board has taken the first step in providing leadership to get the school on the right track. They have offered the founders, Charles and Monya Rutland, a separation agreement that recognizes the work they've put in since their last consulting contract expired in July (Read David Schick's story in today's Telegraph). It may be necessary to make further administrative changes. In each coming decision, the only question that needs to stay front and center with the board members is how will it improve the education of the children attending Macon Charter Academy? If the conversation starts to veer off track from that objective, nothing but more trouble will lie ahead.
This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 10:45 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: Macon Charter Academy takes necessary steps to save itself ."