CMS board calls unexplained special meeting for Monday, likely about Veritas dispute
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board sent an unusual weekend announcement of a special meeting Monday, with no explanation or agenda offered.
Board chair Mary McCray and vice chair Tim Morgan did not respond to Observer calls Saturday afternoon. However, a source familiar with the meeting said it is connected to pending litigation.
The most likely issue is an ongoing dispute between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Veritas charter school over use of the vacant Villa Heights elementary school building. On Dec.1, Mecklenburg County commissioners plan to hold a special session resembling a civil trial to settle the dispute, based on a yet-untested state law.
On Thursday McCray wrote to commissioners Chairman Trevor Fuller asking the county board to back away from that plan and to possibly join CMS in “a declaratory judgment action requesting that the courts resolve the jurisdiction question.”
The CMS/Veritas dispute affects a small number of students, but could set statewide precedent for the growing charter school movement. Charter schools, which are run by independent boards and do not report to school districts, get government money to educate students but often struggle to locate and pay for facilities.
Veritas, a new charter school serving about 100 kindergarteners through third-graders, got a rent-free lease on the vacant CMS school in August after legal wrangling. The lease extends 10 years but gives CMS the right to reclaim the building at the end of each school year if the district needs Villa Heights for its own students.
Veritas opened in temporary church classrooms while renovating Villa Heights, planning to make the move next month. But earlier this month CMS served notice that it would take Villa Heights back this summer for use as an academy to help struggling Garinger High students catch up and graduate.
Veritas founder Katy Ridnouer used a recently-revised state law to appeal the CMS board’s decision to Mecklenburg County commissioners. State charter school officials said no other county has faced a similar appeal, and the law has said little about how it should be handled.
County officials decided last week to conduct the appeal like a trial, with both sides making opening statements, presenting evidence and having a chance to cross-examine witnesses. McCray’s letter to Fuller said it is not clear that the county even has jurisdiction in this case, and the county has not given the school district enough time to prepare.
“We have been asked to prepare for a trial and have all documents submitted to the County by this coming Tuesday, the day before Thanksgiving break,” she wrote. “This is too quick given the serious nature of the jurisdiction question. If you are unable to provide an immediate response to this request, we will need to schedule a School Board meeting for early next week to discuss this further.”
The meeting notice emailed to news media Saturday afternoon meets the legal requirement for 48 hours’ notice of a special meeting. The meeting is set for 4 p.m. Monday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St.
The meeting is open to the public, but the board could go into closed session to get legal advice.
Ann Doss Helms: 704-358-5033, @anndosshelms
This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 6:11 PM with the headline "CMS board calls unexplained special meeting for Monday, likely about Veritas dispute."