Montgomery County’s only charter school vows to stay open after board votes to begin closure

Montgomery County’s only charter school said it’s staying open despite education board officials’ plans to close it for failing to document special education needs.

The board voted Thursday night to accept Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s recommendation to start revoking Mecca Business Learning Institute’s charter.

The resolution that passed accuses the Maryland middle school of failing to give “students access to legally compliant and adequately supported educational programs.”

The Germantown campus has until March 30 to present “a reasonably acceptable alternative” and evidence of compliance with the superintendent’s concerns to the board, according to the resolution.

Responding to the vote, Mecca’s leadership pledged in a Friday statement to meet this deadline and “submit additional documentation demonstrating that alignment measures have been implemented and that compliance is being maintained.”

“We remain hopeful that the Board will reconsider its decision in light of the full and current record and the school’s sustained collaboration with MCPS,” Mecca leaders said in an email to The Washington Times.

If the school fails to meet the deadline, the resolution requires Mr. Taylor to present a closure plan to the board by April 30. The school would then be shuttered on June 30.

“And may it further be resolved that the Board of Education concludes the revocation of Mecca Business Learning Institute’s charter is necessary to protect the educational rights and welfare of the … students,” the resolution states.

The Times has reached out to Montgomery County Public Schools for comment.

The superintendent presented the resolution to the Montgomery County Board of Education, which voted 5-2 to pass it.

“I’m not going to give a speech or additional comments, other than what the board has already heard and the documents that the board has asked for and reviewed,” Mr. Taylor said.

It remains unclear whether the school can meet the deadline.

Montgomery County Board of Education members Rita Montoya, Laura Stewart, Julie Yang, Karla Silvestre and Anuva Maloo voted to enact the resolution. They described it as a reasonable concession, given the school’s struggles to document the special ed needs.

“Again, my overarching concern is the way that this impacts our students,” Ms. Montoya said.

Ms. Stewart said the March 30 deadline is important to help avoid “rolling into another year” with the problems unresolved.

“I think this [resolution] still gives the school a chance, and, also, we’re doing our fiduciary duty as well,” she said.

Board President Grace Rivera-Oven and Vice President Brenda Wolff disagreed. They voted against the resolution and called the March 30 deadline unfair.

“I think this is just a bunch of bull,” Ms. Wolff said, drawing cheers and applause from Mecca supporters attending the meeting.

She noted that the district gives schools with similar issues more than a year to address them, including campuses that have never resolved them during her seven-year tenure.

Despite these objections, the board voted to reject a proposed amendment from Ms. Wolff that would have given the school another semester to meet the required standards.

“I do believe we should give the school a chance to prove themselves,” Ms. Rivera-Oven said before the vote.

Charter schools are independently managed public campuses that operate under state laws. Maryland authorized them in 2003.

Serving over 160,000 students, the Montgomery County Public Schools district is Maryland’s largest. A page on its website describes Mecca as “Maryland’s first business-focused public charter school,” with a focus on teaching job market skills.

Mecca opened at a temporary Bethesda campus in August with 186 students, fewer than the 250 it expected.

The school moved to a permanent Germantown campus in December and ended busing services after enrollment declined during a chaotic start.

According to the school system, only 83 students were still attending classes as of Thursday.

Campus leaders testified at a Jan. 8 school board meeting that district officials recommended closing their school in December, despite providing no reasonable way to address the concerns.

They said they already had 300 applications for the fall semester from students enrolled in traditional district campuses.

Previously, the school board voted to deny Mecca’s charter application before a state appeal forced them to grant it in 2023.

McKenzie Allen, executive director of the Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools, says the district has continuously penalized and harassed the Black-led school since then.

“The district was unsuccessful at blocking the application and getting them to miss deadlines, so this [charter revocation] is the next step at seeking to remove the school,” Ms. Allen said in an email last month.