This page has been made available for your convenience, but the content of this site will no longer be updated after May 20, 2001. Visit the new site for new information. The Charleston County School District was justified in rejecting a charter school application that was submitted after the application deadline, the State Board of Education said today.
Charter schools receive public funds but are free from most state regulations.
The State Board's five-page ruling on the appeal by the Magnolia Academy Charter School elaborated on the board's April 8 decision in favor of the Charleston County School District. It is also undisputed that Ms. Huston of the Magnolia Academy knew of the application deadline as she requested an extension in her letter of Nov. 1, 1997. The State Board's ruling said that July 1 - Nov. 1 was the district's application period, part of a charter school policy approved by the Charleston County School Board a year earlier. The district did not respond to Huston's request for a deadline extension, and Magnolia Charter School's application was formally filed on Dec. 5. The district reviewed the application and the local school board rejected it after a hearing on January 8, citing a number of concerns and specifically mentioning the missed deadline.