The board of Milestone/SABIS Academy charter school met recently and expressed frustration at being essentially kicked out of its campus.
The Innovators in Milestones board met Nov. 21 and discussed how the St. Francis of Assisi church has leased its Uptown classroom space to another charter school, Lycee Francais.
Board member Lorin Crenshaw said the move indicated that the church was more interested in economics than the children of Milestone.
Crenshaw said that the school had already been searching for a new location that would better accommodate its growth.
“We are looking forward to a school that provides the amenities to the next level and we are optimistic of the path we are taking,” he said.
The board has already visited sites that could accommodate a new school building, and the board is confident it will have a home for the 2012-13 school year. Crenshaw said the board is in discussions with a company that will build a new school and lease it to Milestone. He said he couldn’t discuss possible locations because he didn’t want competitors to come in and drive up the price.
Crenshaw said that parents would be included in the process once information could be made public.
In other business:
- Principal Catherine Boozer said that each grade level has been tested to determine the class average. In most subjects, students performed over 70 percent, and in Spanish students, performed exceptionally well.
- Eighth-grade student Kayla Lewis addressed the board, asking it to make a donation for the class field trip to Washington, D.C. The class would like to take an educational field trip and visit the White House. The students have raised much of the money needed through chocolate and cookie dough sales. Board President Leslie Ellison said the board would consider the request at its next meeting.
- Board Secretary Nayita Wilson said that the calendar for the 2012 board meetings has been created. The calendar was approved by the board and will be submitted to the state Department of Education. Wilson has also drafted the school’s public-relation policies, which will be discussed at the next board meeting.
The meeting began at 6:00 p.m. Board members present were Ellison, Wilson, Crenshaw and Tania Moore. Five people were in the audience, including a reporter from The Lens. The meeting was called in to executive session to address personnel matters. The meeting was then adjourned at 7:40 pm.
