Down River – Jan. 29, 2015

Round Three:

At some point in the not too distant future the Keystone Central school board will be acting on a request to renew the Sugar Valley Rural Charter School charter for another five years.

If past history is replicated, the board will overwhelmingly reject the charter renewal request and charter school officials will appeal to the applicable state appeal board and be given the go-ahead for another five years of operation.

But it may not be quite that simple this time around. First, a little history:

It was no secret that many folks in Sugar Valley were much less than happy when the school district voted back in the mid-1990s to shut down the high school portion of the then-Sugar Valley High School and Elementary School (the elementary school survived until 2012). This was part of the long argued, finally consummated district plan to combine Sugar Valley, Bald Eagle-Nittany and Lock Haven High Schools into Central Mountain High School which came into operation in 1999.

Some of those same valley-ites who fought consolidation for an eternity went fairly quickly to a “Plan B” which was pursuing the steps to establish a charter school which became, as of August 2000, what we know today as the Sugar Valley Rural Charter School.

History tells us the Keystone school board has twice rejected the Sugar Valley charter request and twice the state has overturned the local board decision.

So this year the valley charter school is seeking a third five-year charter to continue its operations. And it will make the request likely knowing the district board is again likely to reject it. (While no one within the district will say so publicly, there are those in officialdom who view the whole charter concept as an “end-around” by some Sugar Valley residents to get their school back; these same district officials note the district closed its Sugar Valley operation to save money but now must pony up about $3 million a year to cover the costs associated with those students who opt to attend Sugar Valley rather than their nearest school, this no matter where they live).

Previously charter officials were able to get the state charter appeal board to overrule the local board. But could the outcome be different this time?

There is a state Commonwealth Court decision from 2014 that just might have some relevance to what will be unfolding locally.

This has to do with student test scores. Prior to the closing of the Sugar Valley High School back in the mid-90s, we’ve been told, students there consistently exceeded state averages on standardized assessment tests. That is no longer the case, recent test schools showing shockingly poor performance (this is not written disparagingly but the numbers are there; you can look them up).

And now a court case involving the New Hope Academy Charter School located within the city of York: A Commonwealth Court panel in April of last year overturned an appeal board’s approval for New Hope Academy, citing the school’s failure to meet academic performance standards.

You had best believe Keystone Central knows about that court case and will keep that information tucked away for possible future use, if and when the Sugar Valley charter operatives and the district proceed through their every-5-year scrum on the future of the charter school.

This time around, it appears, the school district has favorable case law on its side; let’s see where it all goes.

“I Hear Ya’”:

Apparently not.

Keith Miller is out after a five year run as president of Virginia State University. He resigned late last year after the predominately black Virginia state school faced mounting financial problems related to declining enrollment.

Miller became president at VSU in 2010 after a six year run as president at Lock Haven University (described in a Richmond newspaper account as a “predominately white school”).

He will be remembered by many in the Lock Haven community for his collegiality and his familiar response, “I hear ya’” when someone brought some area of concern to his attention.

Miller’s run at Virginia State ended with two years left on his contract but don’t fear for his short-term financial future. Upon submission of his resignation it was announced he’ll still get his president’s salary of $356,524 over the next 12 months with the opportunity to return as a tenured faculty member the following year.

VSU took an enrollment hit over the past year and is reported $19 million in debt. The head of the Tidewater Alumni Association termed Miller “a wonderful man” but said his group concluded the president “had fallen short.”

Keep an Ear Out:

Now that Democrat Tom Wolf is our new governor (so far he has been as visible as his predecessor Tom Corbett was invisible) you might be hearing about a local and a displaced local joining Team Wolf.

It could happen and it could happen soon. Ride the right pony, do right by that pony, and opportunity may present itself. Stay tuned.

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