Did Virginia Laws Undercut Hampton’s Efforts To Create a Charter School?

The State of Virginia is among the worst in the nation when it comes to regulations and state oversight for charter schools, this according to a recent editorial from former Fairfax County School Board member Chris Braunlich. But did these laws create a budget loss for Hampton University’s designs on creating a charter school?

When Hampton University, one of Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, developed a charter proposal, it was approved by the Hampton School Board. The university then obtained grants totaling nearly $200,000, invested $500,000 of its own money in renovating a building, and set aside $1 million for the school’s first year budget of $1.9 million — only to see the School Board pull the rug out from under it and refuse to fund the rest, as it had agreed.

Quite a bit of money for a singular school system driven by state regulations to short from a well-intentioned HBCU. And the question that comes out of this scenario and others like it; will this prevent other HBCUs in Virginia from pursuing action to create charter school education in underserved communities? Will teaching and administrative opportunities for HBCU graduates in the state be cut short by the strict rules?

Short URL: http://www.hbcudigest.com/?p=6768