No clear road to survival for Macon Charter Academy

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don't much care where,” said Alice.

“Then it doesn't matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

The further adventures of Macon Charter Academy became “curiouser and curiouser” last week with the announcement by the school’s governing board that they were going to file for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Normally such a filing would give a business or individual some breathing room to work with creditors to pay back debts owed either partially or fully, but that assumes there is income. This troubled school year, MCA’s first, is coming to an end before the end of the month. According to its statement, MCA does not plan on reopening for the 2016-17 school year and wants to start doing business as a charter school again in the 2017-18 school year. That’s a problem.

The school’s only income is from the per-student allotment it receives from taxpayers. No school, no funds. While the state school board was set to decide MCA’s fate last week, it decided, on news of the bankruptcy filing, to hold off, but that decision eventually will be made. The state does not need to hurry. In fact, there is less of a reason to allow the school to maintain its charter now with the announcement of plans to sit dormant for a year.

It’s understandable why the board would want to hit the restart switch and start from scratch, but on a practical note, attracting new students would be a tough slog. Parents would be duly wary of sending their children to a school with such a checkered history, even after a restart. There is no track record of success. There is nothing to build on. From MCA’s very beginning, it has been shrouded in controversy after controversy. The governing board running the school is its third. The founding governing board had problems with the founders of the school and the state, so rather than risk their reputations, most quit. MCA finally started classes last August in the Macon Coliseum, under governing board No. 2, while its building was being completed. The facility is impressive, but the school lacked many of the basic items, such as computers, necessary for a quality education in the 21st century. Problems quickly arose, again over the founders, and that board resigned.

From a fiscal standpoint, there is nothing to say the building occupied by the school will be available if and when MCA attempts to return to daily operation. With the number of people looking to begin charter schools, it is highly unlikely the owner of the facility will let it sit there unoccupied.

All of the speculation will quickly become moot, at least for the MCA board. The state will, in all probability, cancel the school’s charter. While that decision can be appealed, that would only be a waste of time in our opinion. MCA, by filing for bankruptcy protection, has only made the state’s case better for canceling its charter.

This past year has been a wasted year of hope for parents who believed in the mission of the school and who wanted something better for their children. It didn’t turn out that way. We understand their hurt and disappointment. Now those students — and their parents — have to play catch up. We wish them well and pray they will stay committed and involved in their children’s education, wherever they attend school.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 10:00 PM with the headline "No clear road to survival for Macon Charter Academy."