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Greek academy must prove itself

At the urging of school superintendent Clayton Wilcox, the Pinellas County School Board has decided to give the Athenian Academy charter school in Dunedin one more brief chance to fix its problems.

The board voted 6-1 to grant a one-year provisional charter to Athenian Academy. That decision, which reverses a unanimous March vote against giving the school a new charter, places a heavy burden on Wilcox and his staff to monitor the school's performance.

Wilcox asked for it. Shortly after the School Board voted against renewing the charter, Wilcox asked board members to allow him to meet with the school's directors and parents to see if he could work out something to keep the school open. Parents and teachers had begged the district not to shut down the school, which provides some instruction in Greek.

Wilcox came back to the School Board this month with the recommendation for a one-year charter, which will allow Athenian Academy to open its doors for the 2005-2006 school year only.

As a charter school, Athenian Academy receives public dollars - almost $4,000 per student per year - but is run by a private board. The School Board grants the school charters and is supposed to make sure the tax dollars are spent to the benefit of students attending the school.

However, Athenian Academy had struggled to stay afloat through constant staff changes and had refused to submit certain records to the school district. Its financial condition was critical, enrollment was down and there were allegations of Sunshine Law violations.

In March, the School Board heard parents' pleas to keep the 5-year-old school open but turned them down flat, expressing frustration about the school's continued failures. One School Board member, Mary Brown, even scolded the parents, saying they should have insisted on a better educational environment for their children before the school hit bottom.

So Athenian Academy has one year to shape up. Wilcox was wise to recommend only one year. The school will be tested by that deadline, and if it doesn't do well, children will suffer for only nine months. School district officials presumably will be frequent visitors at the school and will keep an eye on the school's books.

It is hoped that after nearly losing its right to operate, Athenian Academy will accept that it must work tirelessly to fulfill its obligations to serve both taxpayers and students.

[Last modified July 21, 2005, 00:56:18]