Truebright denied appeal of charter loss

The Pennsylvania Charter Appeal Board has denied Truebright Science Academy's bid for renewal of its charter, but representatives of the Olney school vowed to fight to stay open past June.

The board voted unanimously Monday in Harrisburg to turn down the school's appeal, according to Tim Eller, state Education Department spokesman.

In October, the board heard Truebright's appeal of the School Reform Commission's decision to deny it a new charter last year.

During Monday's meeting, Eller said acting Education Secretary Carolyn C. Dumaresq pointed out that Truebright failed to meet the state's academic benchmarks for two of the five years under review, and students were not making the academic progress the charter had promised.

In addition, Eller said, Dumaresq said there was a discrepancy between the students' low proficiency scores on state tests and the school's reported 80 percent graduation rate.

"I was a little disappointed," Brian H. Leinhauser, Truebright's attorney, said Wednesday. Leinhauser said he expected Truebright's board would authorize taking the case to Commonwealth Court, but said he and the board were waiting to see the decision first.

"I think it was a school that has a good track record academically and was certainly outperforming district schools in the its area," he said.

Truebright has 350 students in seventh through 12th grades on its campus at 407 E. Roosevelt Blvd.