State begins process to close Macon Charter Academy

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The State Department of Education has started the process to terminate Macon Charter Academy’s charter.

The Georgia Department of Education sent the notification letter to MCA and the Bibb County School Board. The letter says during a visit to the school on March 15, the state learned MCA isn’t up to date on learning standards and hasn’t fixed a majority of the problems the Bibb School District noticed during a visit last September.

Louis Erste from GaDOE sent 41NBC an email explaining the department couldn’t comment further at this time. Erste said documents in the review stage will be finalized within the next few weeks and more information will be released then.

Erste said these are the next steps:
1. Finalize the charter termination process and related documents.
2. SBOE considers initiating the charter termination process.
3. If SBOE approved initiation, then notice of hearing is issued to MCA (including details on the hearing and the process).
4. Unless MCA decides to give up its charter and therefore declines to have a hearing, a hearing is then conducted.
5. Once the hearing is completed, the SBOE then considers whether or not to terminate the charter.
6. If the SBOE decides to terminate the charter, then termination will follow.

Erste said the SBOE’s District Flexibility and Charter Schools Committee urged GaDOE on Wednesday to expedite the issue so parents will know as soon as possible that the school may not be open next year.

The spokesperson for the MCA Governing Board says the charter school has means to hire an additional attorney, but said “I’d rather not comment any further.”

Stephanie Hartley from the Bibb County School District said “we are doing whatever the state needs us to do.”