Shuttering of Imagine charter schools in St. Louis is daunting
ST. LOUIS • As they move to close down a network of St. Louis charter schools over the next several weeks, state education officials face a task as monumental and complicated as dismantling an entire school district.
As many as 3,800 children — or about 11 percent of those attending public schools in the city — must find new schools. Their records must be properly preserved and transferred. The school buildings they attended have to be scoured for equipment and materials paid for with federal funds. The 288 teachers and staff who work at the schools must have a better idea of their remaining pay and benefits. And that's not counting the thousands of questions by parents who demand answers.
Charter schools in Missouri have closed in the past. But never on this scale.
In fact, the decision this week by Missouri's Board of Education to shutter six Imagine charter schools in St. Louis will likely result in the largest charter school closure of its kind nationwide, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. "This is definitely one of the biggest that I'm aware of," said Todd Ziebarth, of the alliance. "It's complicated enough when it's a single school of, lets say, 300 kids."
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/shuttering-of-imagine-charter-schools-in-st-louis-is-daunting/article_ec4adf66-bde4-5e11-91d2-baca703df156.html#ixzz1sdTrdb00
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