Capital Region News

Charter School Fights To Stay Open

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published May 6, 2014 at 12:55 PM EDT

A charter school in Troy scheduled for closure is fighting back against the SUNY trustees who voted to shut it down.

The Ark Charter School isn't going down without a fight. The Capitol Confidential blog reports Ark's operators have decided to go to court to challenge their March closure. SUNY trustees attributed their 2-to-1 decision to close Ark to low academic performance due to poor test scores: the school says that's an "unfair measurement." Ark reportedly has the support of parents, students and members of the community to take legal action: they'll ask for a stay on the order to close by the end of June. Over one thousand people have signed an online petition to keep Ark open.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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