STARS Charter School in Vass is a 300-student, K-8 arts-integrated school that places an emphasis on performing arts such as chorus and dance.
However, after a poor performance on standardized testing that led to the school scoring below proficiency; the board of directors, which includes two Richmond County members, is looking to overhaul the K-8 school whether or not parents are on board.
In turn, the parents are accusing board members of misconduct in the way they hold meetings and make decisions, hiring teachers without the principal’s knowledge and beginning a search for a new principal against the will of the parents.
A meeting was held Friday with a member of the state’s charter school regulatory agency present. A closed session to discuss personnel issues was included in the agenda.
There was no word on any moves made by the board at press time.
According to a timeline offered by grandparent Pat Johnson, since June Assistant Principal Paul Murphy was fired, Executive Director Martha Heinz has been demoted to administrator of grants, two parents who have been active volunteers have been banned from campus, several board by-laws have been changed, a search committee for a new principal has been started, three teacher contracts have not been renewed and the board has been placed on Governance Probationary Status by the state Office of Charter Schools.
A packet was sent out Thursday to regional media outlets including a letter to State Superintendent Dr. June Atkinson alleging multiple violations of the board’s by-laws by its members, and a general dismissal of the opinions of parents.
The letter, sent out by Pat Johnson, who has three grandchildren at the school, accused the board of not giving proper public notice of the meeting, and other violations of their by-laws, for example, extending their terms.
“There are over 100 parents who have signed this petition to date to ask for board compliance and to keep the current principal in place due to her excellent management of the school and her fierce devotion to creating an environment where learning happens in and through the arts,” the letter reads.
The Richmond County residents who serve on the board are Dr. John Langley and Dr. Al Haltiwanger.
Thursday, Langley addressed the concerns of the parents, but said he was unaware of any meeting set to take place Friday.
“What we have is a situation where we have to meet the test scores just like anyone else,” Langley said in a phone interview. “... We’re going to have to change some emphasis, but we don’t believe you have to be either an arts or an academics school. We feel like you can do both.”
Langley said the board has reached consensus they must reform the school’s “organizational patterns and personnel” “to maximize everything we do in the classroom.”
“This is not only our choice, but the state has let us know in no uncertain terms this is what we have to do,” he said.
Langley summed up the crisis the school is facing by saying that when you start out with a charter school all you have “is a vision,” but after that vision comes to fruition the vision can be lost.
“What gets found are questions of ownership, and I think that’s what we have in this case,” he said.
Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.
In my opinion, If Dr. Al Haltiwanger and Dr. Langley are really concerned about what is best for the children, then they should step down. Do the right thing. Dr. Langley says “What gets found are questions of ownership, and I think that’s what we have in this case.” Yes, that’s exactly what we have here. Dr. Haltiwanger and Dr. Langley have feelings of ownership. They are unwilling to pass the torch; they are sacrificing the school that belongs to the children.
Dr. Langley was not at the meeting but several people did see him park and then leave.
Some members of the Board are and have been there between 7-11 years. The bylaws clearly state they should be there no more than 4 years.
The meetings were kept from the public, never posted. They constantly went into executive session so they could hide their votes and decisions.
They sought to change their charter trying to add between 2 and 4 more years to their tenure. Changes to an corporation’s bylaws must be approved by the state but the Board went on their own and made the changes immediately, before getting the approval. The changes were down by the State.
Two Members were thrown off the board that only had 1 year there, because Bonnie McPeake said they were trying to come into compliance. That was not trying to come into compliance that was throwing two members who were the only ones in compliance.
Two parents who have been very active as volunteers at the school were told they may not come on campus because they disagreed with the board. Both of them have children at the school.
At the most recent meeting, two Board members who got angry and stormed out of the meeting when the state told them they were out of compliance with their bylaws and needed to roll off immediately. They were Bonnie McPeake and Dr. Al Haltiwanger. As McPeake left she said she “quit”. She later rescinded.
The Administration is working very hard on test scores. The Board has been on for up to 11 years and never really discussed them. Instead they discussed Gardens and uniforms. Only two of the Board members ever came to the school to see the students’ performances. Not even the big one at the end of the year which was reviewed as highly professional by many. Regrettably, one of the two was one of the bylaw compliant members, whose position was eliminated by the long-term members in June.
The Friday meeting was held at offices that were once the Best Western in Southern pines and owned by McPeake Hotels, Inc. The office ws small and most parents had to sit on the floor and doorways. One grandparent was in a wheelchair and unable to get into the meeting room and had to listen from an adjacent room.
I can go on and on But I do want to say how wonderful the admin and staff are. They all know each student by name. They make sure resources are available for those students needing help. They support the children. When the EOGs were going on they did nothing but support them. These students are very gifted not only in The Arts and work hard in Academics. The Board only stresses the teachers out by their rude actions rather than supports them.
There is another article in the Pilot written by a reporter that attended the meeting. You can read it by going to: http://www.thepilot.com/news/2010/jul/23/troubles-brewing-stars-board/
Thank you,