That's what school board member Gerry Turner said he would like to know.
"What the ... is going on in York City that we're attracting so many?" he asked during Monday's school board meeting. "My question is what are you coming here for?"
Turner's question was aimed at Aiko Malynda Maurer, board secretary and treasurer for HOPE for All Charter School.
HOPE -- an acronym for Help Opportunities Practical Experiences Empowerment -- is applying for charter school status within the city district, which already supports several charters.
Maurer presented the board information about HOPE's officials, vision and goal to provide 10th- through 12th-grade students learning and work opportunities that include running a student-operated café and doing office and technology internships.
The café would show students how to help financially support their school and how to be productive in their communities, she told Turner.
Maurer, of Altoona, Blair County, also told Turner that HOPE is geared toward helping a small number of students who are not suited for a traditional classroom setting to learn work skills they need to begin careers after their high school years.
She said students would go to the school year-round, while keeping an eight-hour schedule similar to work. They would also have class in a conference-room setting to get them used to functioning in a work-like environment.
The charter school
What's different? He said he could not see where HOPE offers anything different from the York County School of Technology, where the district sends students, or the other charter schools already running in the city.
And the district already has a charter school with the word "Hope" in its name New Hope Academy.
Also in the district are Lincoln Edison Elementary, Crispus Attucks Youthbuild and Helen Thackston Charter Middle School.
Last month, YorkCounts, a nonprofit quality-of-life group, proposed a charter school to the district.
"We're getting chartered to death," said school board member Margie Orr. "Every time I turn around, a new charter school is being thrown our way."
The York City school district -- the poorest educational system in York County -- is strapped for cash, and its board is scheduled to vote Wednesday, Nov. 18, on whether to close Phineas Davis Elementary School because renovating it is not cost-effective.
HOPE for All has until Sunday to file its charter school application with the district, Foust said.
After that, the district will have 45 days to hold a public hearing on the matter. Then the board will have 75 days to vote on the issue. YorkCounts is on a similar timeline, Foust said.
How it works: Charter schools are independently run but receive money from the districts in which they operate.
Foust said the board will follow state laws in determining whether HOPE for All Charter School can set up shop in the district. However, he and Turner said they're concerned that supporting too many of the educational ventures can bankrupt the district.
"In my mind, as a city taxpayer, I'm wondering who's going to show up next month," Turner said. "There's a limit to what the taxpayers can afford."
-- Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.
Font Resize
