Teaneck Public School District Takes Legal Action to Stop Proposed Virtual Charter School

The Teaneck Board of Education has filed a petition with the Department of Education seeking to block a proposed virtual charter school from opening and asking state officials to rescind a letter saying the school .

In October, the state sent a letter to Teaneck Schools Superintendant Barbara Pinsak saying the district might have to budget $15.4 million for the proposed Garden State Virtual Charter School.  The school plans to enroll 1,000 K-12 students in a statewide online program, with a drop-in center in Teaneck. State education officials made the calculation based on every student coming from Teaneck, but said the district was not required to budget the full amount.

District officials have said the amount would force sweeping cuts and devastate the town’s public school system. Teaneck school officials are also asking for a moratorium on approvals for all virtual charter schools until a new funding formula can be decided on, according to the district’s petition.

The district's petition notes that no current laws specifically govern virtual charter schools.

"The statutes and regulations are conspicuously silent about virtual and/or on-line charter schools," the petition said. "Specifically, and at the heart of the instant matter, the funding statute, as currently written, pertains to charter schools located in a particular district providing instruction to those resident students."

"The Board must not be required to bear the sole financial burden of operating a Statewide virtual or on-line charter school," the petition said. 

District officials have stressed they are not against virtual learning or charter schools, but oppose current regulations they maintain are unfair to local districts. 

"We're asking that the process be fixed," Pinsak said, when reached at her office Tuesday night. 

Pinsak said the district was already working on the upcoming budget, but was told by state officials to take a "wait and see" approach to the charter school. 

"We can't wait and see," she said. "We're already in the budget process."

If the district does not budget for the proposed charter school, the county superintendent might throw out the school budget, district officials have said. 

State Senator Loretta Weinberg, who has met with the Board and has emailed Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf on the issue, urged the state to address the amount given to Teaneck district officials.  

"The Department of Education must find a way to get this cleared up as soon as possible," Weinberg said. 

Garden State Virtual Charter School Co-Founder Jason Flynn said he would delay opening the school until issues around funding virtual charter schools are addressed.

“Unfortunately, they don’t want to meet with us and take a joint stand. They want to litigate,” Flynn said of the Board of Education. "I don't understand why the leadership of this district is spending thousands of dollars on something we agree on."

Flynn said the school would not serve many Teaneck residents, and the program was designed for non-traditional students. 

In a statement, the school said it would “vigorously defend” its right to open.

Education Department spokesman Justin Barra said he could not comment on pending litigation. An administrative law judge will conduct oral arguments sometime next week and send recommendations to Cerf.

Opponents of the proposed virtual school are also planning to rally at Wednesday from 3:30 to 8 p.m.

The state will announce in January if the charter school is approved.