Ruling allows VLT Academy to remain open

VLT Academy, a 600-student charter school in Pendleton, will remain open next year thanks to a judge's ruling Monday.

In a potentially precedent-setting decision, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Nadine Allen is forcing the Ohio Department of Education to sponsor the school next year, thereby saving it from closure. She also ordered the department to give VLT nearly $300,000 to ensure teachers and staff are paid.

"We're ready to get started," said VLT Superintendent and founder Valerie Lee.

VLT Academy is headquartered on Central Parkway across from the Horseshoe Casino. It was supposed to close June 30 because its sponsoring organization, Education Resource Consultants of Ohio, declined to renew its contract with the school, citing academic and financial concerns.

Since Ohio law requires charter schools to have a sponsor to remain open, VLT tried – unsuccessfully – to find a new one. It had even asked the Ohio Department of Education, which declined.

In an unusual move, VLT appealed the ODE's rejection in Common Pleas Court. School leaders contended politics was to blame. Lee said ODE unfairly pressured sponsors to reject her school, even though its academics had never been poor enough to trigger Ohio's automatic closure laws.

Allen gave VLT a 14-day reprieve before ruling in its favor Monday. The Judge said ODE's actions prevented VLT from finding a sponsor and that closing the school would do "irreparable harm" to students.

ODE has been cracking down on charter school sponsors to weed out poor-performing schools.

"ODE admits warning the two other interested sponsors ... they would be held 'accountable for the quality of their schools' and that 'a school like VLT would stand in the way of them being able to be recognized as an effective (sponsor),' " Allen said in the ruling.

The ruling could set precedent in Ohio, home to 392 charter schools and 64 charter school sponsors, by requiring the state to sponsor the very charter schools it wants to shut down.

ODE spokesman John Charlton said the department will follow the judge's order.

"In Ohio we do want quality schools. If they're not performing we will hold the sponsors accountable," he said. "If we're going to be the sponsor, then we'll make sure they're meeting their obligations."

The ruling is a win for Lee and her husband, who started the school about a decade ago.

"It's a great, great day," said Lewis. "VLT should definitely be open for the children it serves. I'm just glad we were able to prevail."

More than 99 percent of VLT students are considered economically disadvantaged by the state; 97 percent are African-American. The school struggles academically.

Allen's ruling touched on many issues that have been controversial in the world of charter school accountability, including whether the large number of "at-risk" students it serves should be considered by ODE when making accountability decisions.

The school has also lost about 300 kids in three years because of housing changes in Pendleton and Over-the-Rhine. Schools are funded based on their enrollment.

VLT lost $1.8 million during that time.

But Allen noted it has a recovery plan. It plans to close some of its buildings next year and condense to a K-8 school instead of K-12. ■