Odyssey Charter to close permanently
Odyssey Charter Board of Directors announced Thursday that it would not appeal the Idaho Public Charter School Commission’s decision to revoke the school’s charter.
The board told parents they had three options: 1) appeal the revocation through the Idaho State Board of Education, 2) dissolve the school and cease any effort to salvage the current charter plan, or 3) allow parents to form a new board and present a new charter to the commission.
The board decided it would dissolve the school while suggesting parents elect a new board to draft a new charter.
“It was a hard decision for the board to make,” said board Chairperson Carrie Reynolds. “We thought allowing the parents to have a fresh start to create a new charter would be better than them having to fighting the problems from last year.”
The board did establish a transition team to help staff and parents through the dissolution process. Principal Travis Jensen, Carrie Reynolds and several other staff will be on that team. Reynolds said other staff members will be hired onto the team to help with inventory and student records. Salaries designated for the 2014-2015 fiscal year will end, and remaining budget funds will be given back to the state. Reynolds estimates $150,000 left over from the 2013-2014 budget will be used to fund the transition team.
Wednesday the Idaho Public Charter School Commission decided it would revoke the school’s charter. Commission Director Tamara Baysinger said the commission lacked confidence in the school’s ability, feeling logistically that the school would not reach its accreditation standards.
