Letter: State board follows standard procedure on Faith charter
Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 13, 2020
A recent headline concerning the Faith Academy gave the impression that the State Board of Education had “delayed” a decision until the January meeting. Let me add that I used to write headlines for the Post some 50 years ago and I know how difficult it can be for the person who did not write the story and who has only limited space for the headline to always get it right!
I wanted to make sure my memory of how the state board handles voting on issues was correct so I talked with Eric Davis, chairman of the State Board of Education. He confirmed that the board is not delaying the decision. It is standard operating procedure for the board to discuss issues at one meeting (December in this case) and then vote at the next meeting which will be held in early January. In fact, he said the board has advanced the normal timetable for such issues so the Faith charter school could open in August 2021, contingent on SBE approval in January.
I have talked with Chairman Davis several times about the Faith application, which the Charter School Advisory Committee has approved unanimously. In the six and one-half years I served as the State Board of Education chairman, I can remember only one or two times when we took issue with the recommendations from the advisory committee.
The Faith community has approached this issue in a very positive way and has retained excellent educational leadership in developing what I believe will turn out to be one of the most effective charter schools in our state. I hope the state board will agree next month.
— Phil Kirk
Raleigh
Editor’s note: Phil Kirk is chairman emeritus of the State Board of Education.