Roxbury Charter fights to stay open despite state board vote

Jeremy Schwab

Administrators at the embattled Roxbury Charter High Public School announced last week that they plan to open their doors in September, despite the Board of Education’s decision to revoke their charter.

The controversial decision sets up a showdown between the state and the school, which opened three years ago with a mission to train students in business and finance as well as traditional subjects.

School administrators repeatedly appealed the board’s initial decision to revoke the charter last December, to no avail. The board based its decision on the school’s then-projected $177,000 deficit, its failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, failure to implement required programs for special education and English language immersion and failure to comply with state and federal requirements regarding student record keeping and documentation of Title I eligibility.

The school has since brought on new board members and, last week, a new director. School administrators argued during a hearing in June that they had brought the school’s finances into the black and made other improvements. But the hearing officer found that the Board of Education had voted properly to revoke the charter.

“We met all the compliance issues in the review,” complained Roxbury Charter board member Paula Robinson during a press conference last week. “They haven’t taken into consideration all the changes that were made.”

The school’s new director, Carlos Brossard, said that the school will fight the state’s decision in court.

“You wanted a legal fight, you’ve got it,” said Brossard, who has worked for decades in education-related fields, including education research and school administration.

Both sides expressed confidence they would prevail in a legal battle. A Department of Education spokeswoman said she did not believe a judge would allow the school to keep its charter.

“We don’t believe that would happen,” said the spokeswoman, Heidi Perlman. “If the school opens, then the Board [of Education] votes a few weeks later to [revoke the charter], the school would have to shut down.

“The people most impacted by this would be the kids,” she continued. “Parents are dragging their feet about deciding on other schools for their kids, holding out hope the school will remain open.”

Perlman disputed school officials’ assertions that their finances are in order, but would not discuss the specifics.

“We feel the numbers they presented in May still left them in the red, and we don’t see how they could sustain themselves this year,” she said.

Students would be transferred to other public schools in Boston, as space is available, if the school is forced to close during the school year.

The school is slated to enroll 140 students in grades 9-12. On Friday, after three days of recruiting, Brossard said the school had heard from parents of 45 students saying they intended to return.

Many parents have remained loyal to the school in the midst of the controversy.

Parent coordinator Peggy James, who also has a daughter at the school, said the individual attention her daughter receives at Roxbury Charter makes it a better option than most Boston public schools.

“It was a wonderful experience initially, but the whole morale of the school was killed by hearing what is happening in the media,” she said. “We wanted smaller classrooms and higher standards of education. That’s why we came here.

“When I look at what’s going on in other schools — overcrowding, lackluster learning, why would I take her anyplace else?” she continued. “I wish the school board would respect the wishes of parents and know that I know what is best for my child.”