PACE Academy Renewal Denied By State Board Of Ed.

RALEIGH – The charter for PACE Academy in Carrboro was denied renewal Thursday in a unanimous vote by the North Carolina State Board of Education.

“The charter would expire June 30, 2014, so they would be able to complete this school year but not be open for next school year,” says Joel Medley, director of the Office of Charter Schools.

PACE Academy opened in 2004 to serve high school students with learning disabilities or behavioral problems who have not succeeded at traditional schools. More than half of the 169 enrolled have been identified as special needs students.

In December, the state’s Charter School Advisory Board recommended to the North Carolina Board of Education that PACE not have its charter renewed. The CSAB report cited testing noncompliance, fiscal irregularities and low academic performance.

Medley says there was some discussion before the unanimous vote was made.

“Primarily the reason is that the board—which was granted the charter by the state board of education—did not offer effective oversite of the school,” Medley says.

Medley says a formal letter was sent to the school shortly after the decision was made. In that it explains that the school still has a chance to fight the ruling.

“The school does have the opportunity to appeal to the office of administrative hearings, and they’ll be notified of that today,” Medley says.