Proposed charter school in East Liberty wins appeal fight against Pittsburgh Public Schools

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board should not have nixed a proposed charter school in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood, a state oversight board ruled Tuesday.

On a split vote, the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board determined that the application for the planned Catalyst Academy Charter School fully meets the requirements of the state’s charter school law and granted its right to open — overturning the local school board’s denial last year, Catalyst Academy founder and CEO Brian Smith said.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board has 10 days to either grant the charter application as ordered or appeal the decision to Commonwealth Court.

Board members did not return requests for comment late Tuesday on their next steps.

At least two state lawmakers who represent East End communities took issue with the state board’s decision, state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, and state Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Lincoln-Lemington.

“Simply put, the (Charter School Appeal Board) should not be overruling our local school boards in this manner,” Williams said in a statement.

Rep. Gainey described the ruling as making for “a very disappointing day.”

But with Tuesday’s vote, Smith said that he his team are excited to “put our plan into action and provide a high-quality school that prepares our future students for college, career and life” into what he described as “underserved neighborhoods of the East End.”

Smith cited testing data showing that in the area’s traditional schools, 1 in 10 students are proficient for their grade level in math and 1 in 4 are proficient in reading.

“That’s appalling,” Smith said. “Families are desperate for high-quality education options.”

Among neighborhoods from which the East Liberty-based school aspires to draw students: Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Garfield, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington, Homewood and East Hills.

Smith filed an appeal with the state after the local board denied his proposal in February 2018.

In its denial, the Pittsburgh Public Schools board cited deficiencies with Catalyst Academy’s plans for special needs students, discipline, curriculum and facilities. The board further said that its proposal marked a “duplication of services” in options already available.

Per the law that ushered charter schools into Pennsylvania in 1997, criteria considered when a local district decides whether to grant an application include: community support for the school, complete plans for governance and curriculum, financial viability, adequate facilities, meeting the needs of students with disabilities and its potential to serve as a model for other public schools.

Smith argued that while the nine-member school board ultimately denied the application, an 11-member charter review team of Pittsburgh Public Schools experts initially recommended its approval.

In its appeal, Catalyst Academy cited evidence of support from parents, community members, elected officials, faith-based leaders, human services providers and education advocates.

Smith said fundraising has begun to get the school up and running. Catalyst Academy has signed a letter of intent to lease a building in East Liberty, a former synagogue that was last used by Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh charter school.

The school would aim to open in its first year only to kindergarteners and first-graders, for a total of about 140 students, then add a grade level each year, to reach a total enrollment of about 650 K-8 students, Smith said. Class sizes would be limited to 18 students, and teachers would have a dedicated coach for year-round professional development and collaboration with fellow teachers.

The school — whose motto would be, “Belong. Grow. Achieve.” — would aim to focus on core skills as well as “holistic education” and “whole-child development,” Smith said. Students will take art and physical education classes four days a week and take engineering and science-related classes five days a week.

Based on public records, Catalyst Academy received the most positive review of 21 charter applications presented to Pittsburgh Public Schools in more than a decade — and still got denied, Smith said.

The case marks the latest example of the clash between traditional public school districts and charter schools, with financially struggling districts across Western Pennsylvania risking losing thousands of dollars per student in their boundaries who enroll in a charter school.

Charter schools are not supposed to be denied based on the financial impact to a particular district. State law does not place a cap on the number of charter schools.

“Obviously there needs to be rigorous review of applications, and not anyone should just be opening a school, but the process can be so onerous such that the state’s charter school law is rendered moot,” Smith said. “We believe there needs to be an objective process.”

Legislative attempts at designating university or statewide charter school authorizers have repeatedly fizzled in Harrisburg in recent years amid pleas from school boards to retain local control.

“Our elected school board knows what is best for our school district,” Rep. Gainey said.

The Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board, also known as CAB, includes the state Secretary of Education and six more members — a parent, a school board member, a certified teacher, a higher education professional, a member of the business community and a member of the state Board of Education. Members are appointed by the governor with approval from a majority of the Senate.

Sen. Williams, a Democrat, pointed out that several of CAB’s sitting members were appointed by former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, known for being more friendly and open to charter school expansion than the union-supporting Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf.

Williams said she was grateful that Education Secretary Pedro Rivera of the Wolf administration made a motion to uphold the Pittsburgh district’s denial of Catalyst Academy, though his motion failed.

Since 2007, Pittsburgh Public Schools has nixed more than 15 charter school proposals, records show. Six new charter schools opened within the district’s boundaries during the same period, including ones that won approval through the appeals process.

The state appeal board also has overturned decisions denying charter schools in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood and suburbs such as McKeesport and Penn Hills.