Meanwhile, earlier this month, Cooper said he asked Nashville school leaders to figure out how they could carve up to $100 million out of the district’s budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The school board’s denial of charter school applications is also in keeping with its overall trend in recent years. The debate over charter schools in Nashville has been one of the city’s most contentious.
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Critics say charter schools, which receive public money but are operated independently, pull students, money and resources away from zoned schools. Proponents have said they allow choices for parents and alleviate needs at some schools.
Nashville now is projected to spend $139 million on the city’s 28 charter schools, which enroll nearly 13,000 students.
Board members, who met Tuesday via an online video chatting platform due to the pandemic, considered applications for the following schools:
A majority of the Madison School District rejected the proposed Madison Preparatory Academy IB Charter school.
The University of Wisconsin “charter czar” can approve “independent charter schools” in Madison. One City Learning operates under this model.