The vote at the board’s legislative meeting follows a report earlier this month by the district’s charter review committee that found Imani’s charter application did not include all of the information required under Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law.
The law requires applications for brick-and-mortar charter schools to be approved by the board of the district in which the school will be located. The law also requires districts to pay tuition for the students who live in their boundaries who attend charter schools.
Imani officials can appeal the denial to the state Charter School Appeal Board.
The conversion to a charter would have provided Imani with a steady stream of revenue. The school has experienced deficits in recent years according to IRS filings, including $222,123 in 2013, $402,379 in 2014 and $526,292 in 2016, the most recent year available.
Officials from Imani could not be reached for comment. A woman who answered the phone at the school this morning said there would be no comment “at this time.”
Among the problems cited by the district charter review team were the fact that Imani’s curriculum, as presented in its charter application, was not aligned with the Pennsylvania Core standards and the application did not include a special education curriculum or special education director or teacher listed among the staff.
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