Groups At Odds Over Proposed Laurel Charter School

A group of parents are at odds with officials at the Laurel Boys and Girls Club over a proposal to start an all-boy public charter school citing that resources required for a new school in the middle of a county school budget crunch would detract from other public schools in Laurel.  

The Laurel Preparatory Public Charter School would be in the club’s headquarters on Montgomery Street.  Officials hope to open the school in either 2012 or 2013 with 300 male students, said Levet Brown, club president.

If approved by the Prince George’s County Board of Education, the charter school would at first house grades eight through 10, and would eventually expand to include grades 11 and 12.

The school would be tuition-free.  Students would be required to wear uniforms, blazers and ties.  And the student population would be chosen by a countywide lottery system.  Club officials said funding would come from a per pupil allocation from the Board of Education plus public and private grants the club would aggressively seek.  The application to the Board must be submitted by March 24. Brown said if the club determines they will need more time, they will apply next year.

But some club parents and former coaches said that considering the Prince George’s County School system is facing a $155 million shortfall, the timing for a new school could not be worse.

Club parent Kelly McGirt-Smith said she has heard from 10 parents or former coaches who are opposed to the project. 

McGirt-Smith said her children in Laurel public schools have faced book shortages, lack of paper and overcrowding. 

“This idea is not realistic. It can only harm an already stressed system,” she said. “And what about the club’s current programs? What will happen to them?”   

The Laurel club serves about 4,400 young people, and Brown said the club’s board of directors, executive director and athletic director agree that the club has evolved beyond sports. Brown said that under the proposal, the school would occupy the building during the day, and club programs would be run in the space weeknights and on weekends.

“Our focus has changed,” Brown said. “Our mission is now recreation, community projects and education…We have a 60,000 square foot building just sitting there that could make a major impact on the community.”

To oversee the creation of the school, the club created a five person Founder’s Committee with members that have a background in education, Brown said. Should the school be approved by the Board of Education and successfully open, the Founder’s Committee would oversee the school’s principal, who would run the school on a day- to-day basis.

Chantel Upshur-Myles, Founders Committee chairwoman, said an all-boy format was chosen because young males face a slew of educational risk factors that females don’t.

“Young males are not always taught respect, discipline, or taking personal responsibility for the roles that they will assume one day,” she said.

Still, the proposed school have created a rift, even between officials in the club.

Andre Sams recently resigned his post as the club’s interim football commissioner. He said he resigned because he disagrees with new administrative procedures of the club, and is starting his own youth football team/league. But he also left because he believes a prep school is not a viable project for the club.

“We have enough schools here already, we don’t need anymore,” he said.

Beth Perrine has resigned as cheerleading commissioner because she believes the club is going in the wrong direction, and the school project is not well thought out. She believes that with numerous other schools nearby, the potential for traffic tie ups are great should the charter school open.

“There was no public forum inviting people who live on both sides of the club,” she said. “People in the community have not had a chance to speak about this.”    

Former cheerleading and pom coach Evelyn Hawkins would rather see the club obtain funding to improve itself, instead of starting a charter school. And she noted, correctly, that the club’s online survey seeking input about the school doesn’t have a “no” box to indicate opposition to the project.

Crystal Evans, also a former cheerleading coach, wonders whether the club is capable of running a school. She said there were times there was no heat or air conditioning in the club during her practices.

“We were only in there three or four times a week, and it just seemed to overwhelm the people in there,” said Evans.

Brown said the club has more than done its homework to prepare for the school.  He said he had received about 140 responses to the online survey. The majority of respondents supported forming a school, and those who didn’t used the comments section to indicate their opposition, said Brown.

He said some of those opposed to the school were former coaches “disgruntled” with new administrative procedures he and his new athletic director have instituted.

“We’ve been looking at this for three years. We’ve gone door to door about this. We have community support,” he said.

Upshur-Myles said she understands the parents and coaches concerns regarding the charter school receiving public school funding. But she said that the county's school system allocates less per pupil than traditional public schools. She said that gives charter schools the freedom to seek out their own funding.

“We can engage in more fundraising activities, develop corporate sponsorships, and leverage more community relational resources, whereas your traditional public school cannot,” said Upshur-Myles.