State Panel Determines Fate of Hartford’s Charter School

By Tammy Moore Teague
The decision came down yesterday, a state panel denied the approval of Hartford’s new charter school, Sugarloaf Valley Academy, for the 2019-2020 school year.
The panel found that there wasn’t a demonstrated need shown for the school and they “had concerns about whether it could attract a sufficient number of students to be financially viable.”
SVA wasn’t the only charter school being considered. Four applications were submitted across the state, and only one was approved. Open enrollment charter schools are taxpayer supported and are operated by a nonprofit organization rather than a traditional school district.
Charter panel decisions are reviewed by the State Board of Education, who has the authority to accept or reject the decision. Charter school applicants can appeal to the board for a formal hearing. We will continue to follow this story and report in the event RVA pursues an appeal.