NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
The future of the controversial Arizona-based charter school seems clear for the time being.
Great Hearts Academies will not continue to pursue a place in the Metro school district.
The school said it might reconsider if the application process is handled by an independent group.
Forming an independent charter school authorizing board is something the Tennessee Charter School Incubator supports.
The Incubator helps charter schools get organized and navigate the application process.
The back and forth between the MNPS school board, Great Hearts officials and the state department of education is something the Incubator has been watching carefully over the past few months.
"To be honest, I have very little understanding of and clarity about why the decision came down the way it did," said Rebecca Lieberman, the Director of Talent and Recruitment at the Incubator. "It was surprising to us."
Lieberman is the director of talent and recruitment at the Incubator.
"As we watched this unfold, we were disappointed in how it turned out," she explained, "Because we believe we need more high quality charters as options for families in Nashville."
School board members who denied Great Hearts' application cited concerns about diversity and transportation.
"I think what is clear is that those reasons need to be investigated," Lieberman told Nashville's News 2. "People need to do a lot of reflection and people really need to think about putting kids first from this point forward."
Three new charter schools will open their doors in Nashville next fall and more schools are in the pipeline, schools that have not yet gone through the approval process.
The current approval process through the MNPS school board is one the Incubator would like to see reevaluated and possibly changed.
"I think that it becomes very, very clear that we need to have an authorization process that's independent, that's a-political and that's respected and really focuses on what's good for kids and on creating high quality, high performing charter schools for Nashville," Lieberman said.
Olivia Brown, a spokesperson for MNPS, told Nashville's News 2 the school district does not know what will happen next.
The school board broke state law when it denied Great Hearts' application.
Despite all the controversy surrounding Great Hearts, Lieberman still believes charter school operators will look to Nashville as a place to start a new school.
"I think it gives people pause, but I think right now the momentum in Tennessee is so strong," Lieberman said.
Nashville's News 2 contacted several MNPS school board members who voted against Great Hearts; no one wanted to discuss their decision.
