State board issues final rejection to proposed new charter school in Tulsa

A last-ditch effort at sponsorship by proponents of a new charter school as part of a yet-to-be constructed housing development in northwest Tulsa failed on Thursday.

One Oklahoma State Board of Education member said he could not support the idea because it “feels like state-sponsored gentrification.”

The proposal called for a school called Harlow Creek Elementary to be built at the site of a future residential neighborhood development called “Evolving Communities,” located in the Osage Hills near Edison Street and 33rd West Avenue. Its plan was to open in fall 2021 and serve up to 80 students in kindergarten through third grade initially, then expand each year until it offers prekindergarten through grade five.

Scott Pardee, the would-be school founder and developer, had appealed to the state school board for sponsorship because the Tulsa school board denied the charter school proposal in late January.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/state-board-issues-final-rejection-to-proposed-new-charter-school-in-tulsa/article_19d96d0a-240a-53c6-8036-3a6214af4c2d.html