ST. LOUIS — The board of ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools is suing the state to try to stop a new charter school from opening in the city.
Believe STL Academy failed to inform the school district of its intent to open in the city in fall 2024 as required by state law, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Court.
The SLPS board sued the Missouri State Board of Education, the Missouri State Charter School Commission and Believe STL Academy, led by executive director Kimberly Neal-Brannum.
Charter school operators are required to provide the local school district with a copy of their application within five days of filing with their sponsor. SLPS officials never received the application, according to the suit. The state board of education approved the new school at its October meeting.
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“This is about two things,†said Antoinette Cousins, SLPS board president, in a statement. “State officials and the operators of this proposed school ignoring the law, and the very real impact that adding yet another school will have on our city’s children. There are too many schools in ºüÀêÊÓƵ right now. If this charter doesn’t go out of business, another almost certainly will.â€
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not comment on pending litigation, a spokeswoman said. Robbyn Wahby of the charter school commission did not respond to a request for comment.
Believe STL Academy sent SLPS an email on Sept. 19 about plans to open of the school, according to a statement from Neal-Brannum.
"We are confident that we have followed the law. We have repeatedly sought to engage SLPS alongside the many community partners and families who are eager for this new and innovative school," the statement reads.
Believe STL Academy expects to have 440 students in ninth through 12th grades by 2027, according to its application. The school is a replica of Believe Circle City charter high school in Indianapolis, which Neal-Brannum opened in fall of 2020. Believe’s stated goal is for every student to graduate with an associate’s degree or job certification.
The SLPS board last month approved a resolution opposing Believe STL Academy, which the state board did not consider in its approval of the school’s charter.
The resolution cited declining population in the city and an overabundance of high schools. There are 21 SLPS or charter high schools in the city with an average enrollment of 355. By comparison, districts in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County with similar student enrollment, including Hazelwood, Parkway and Rockwood, have three or four high schools each.
“The SLPS Board believes that school choice programs continue to create a system of schools and programs that fight over a declining population of children and a shrinking pool of resources, leading to duplicated services and system-wide inefficiencies,†the lawsuit reads. “The local community should be afforded the opportunity to ‘right-size’ education delivery models and allow for increased revenue to be available for student teaching, learning expenditures, personnel, and educational opportunities.â€
Charter schools are publicly funded but operated by nonprofit boards. In Missouri, charter schools can open in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City and in school districts that are continually underperforming.
Charters have had a mixed record since they first opened in ºüÀêÊÓƵ in 2000 with a goal of improving student performance and keeping families in the city. More than half of the 37 charter school operators that came to the city have folded due to financial or academic failures, including La Salle and Hawthorn schools this year. A new elementary charter school, Voices Academy, opened in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ in August.
There are now 15 charter school networks in ºüÀêÊÓƵ with about 40 schools. There is a lack of evidence that charter schools have helped stem the city’s population loss, driven primarily by Black families with children moving out. Census data shows ºüÀêÊÓƵ has lost 40% of its children since charter schools were introduced in 2000.
Enrollment in charters has stalled at around 11,500 students for the last few years, as schools open and close each year. Despite the closure of more than 50 SLPS buildings since 2000, the district has one of the lowest capacity rates in the country with 16,600 students across 62 buildings last year.
Academic results have also been mixed. In 2022, ºüÀêÊÓƵ charter schools scored an average of 69% on the state’s annual performance report, which includes test scores and attendance rates. SLPS schools scored an average of 64%.
Edited to add statement from Neal-Brannum.