11-07-2025
Jackson-Madison school board denies museum school's charter application
The Jackson-Madison County School Board approved, 6-2, a resolution to deny Jackson Museum School's amended charter school application on July 10.
Glen Gaugh, District 2, and Debbie Gaugh, District 3, were the opposing votes.
The application was initially denied with stipulations in an 8-1 vote at the April 30 board meeting, giving the school's founder/CEO, Jean Little, 30 days to amend and resubmit the application.
Vivian Williams, JMCSS Deputy Superintendent and Charter Review Committee Chair, shared at the July 7 work session that the application still "presents significant areas of concern" despite the application meeting most of the rubric standards set by the Tennessee Department of Education.
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"Based on the criteria from the state of Tennessee, we were able to evaluate based on those demands, and we did find some good points, and we found that they met or exceeded, as well as some partially met," Williams said.
"Some of the things that were partially met were concerning. The deficiencies in those particular areas, in particular, the budget, which has been mentioned, in making a lot of assumptions about funding when you do not have the money, makes a difference."
JMCSS Attorney Dale Thomas read the resolution to the board following public comment.
Cited reasons for denial included an insufficient staffing plan, underfunded teacher salaries, an inadequate professional development plan, and concerns over the financial viability of the school's operations budget.
Little said she still believes in bringing school choice to Jackson.
"Obviously, we are disappointed in their vote, but we do still remain committed to our overall goal of bringing an innovative school choice like Jackson Museum School to West Tennessee, specifically to the families of Jackson, Tennessee," Little said.
"I think all concerns are valid, and we're always open to the discussion about what's best for students. I do think that based on my experience, and even the comments that I made tonight, that I do have the experience to work with students, to lead a school, to turn around achievement scores, and I have worked with the most underserved populations in the 20 years that I've been a teacher."
Just before the vote, board member Glen Gaugh voiced concern over voting to deny the school's amended application, referencing the new state law regarding local authorization.
Senate Bill 1310, which went into effect on July 1, 2025, states that a local school board is allotted three separate denials of a charter school application in three years.
If they reach three denials, any prospective charter school can bypass the local authorizer and apply directly to the Tennessee Public School Charter Commission.
"With more charter applications promised in the future, I have no doubt there will be an application at some point that I just cannot vote to accept, and a program that would not be conducive to academics, learning, participation, or ideals of civic engagement, growth, or patriotism even, in our schools and in our community," Gaugh said.
"This is not that charter school that I can say I'm willing to risk my no vote, or my disapproval of rather, and so in spite of all that concerns, this is one that I'm willing to take a chance on, so I'll be voting against the resolution to deny and hope that we can work together for this to succeed."
In October 2023, the state charter school commission overturned the board's denial of American Classical Education's proposed charter school, prompting swift legal action by JMCSS, which was eventually dropped.
School Board Chairman Harvey Walden, District 4, Position 1, addressed the implications of the law with the media following the meeting's conclusion.
Speaking to whether JMCSS would find itself in a similar legal situation if the commission approves Jackson Museum School, Walden says he "doubts that very seriously."
"I would imagine if the state approves them, they will be here in Jackson, Tennessee," Walden said.
Walden added he doesn't believe the denial of ACE's application would count against the district because the law wasn't in effect at the time.
Andrea Givens-Moore, District 6, Position 1, expressed strong disapproval of Jackson Museum School.
The possibility of a charter school being established in the community would be a disservice, Givens-Moore says.
She went on to allege that she had received "fraudulent" emails in support of the school, which she said she found to be "disturbing."
"Taking a chance on our children is something that I am not welcoming at all for my community," Givens-Moore said.
"There has been some emails that I received, and there were some family members that were added in these emails that were fraudulent, that were sent to me personally, and those people can be named as well. So I'm disturbed at those emails that were saying yes to this charter school, because those people did not send those emails, and there were over three that I can vouch for, and they can vouch for themselves."
After the vote when asked about the accusation of fraudulent emails, Little shared the following statement.
"I find that surprising, and I'm certainly willing to look into it although my confusion is based on the fact that the email platform that we used is generated from the email users," Little said. "So, if I send in an email, it automatically says that it is from me. I can not send in an email for someone else because it shows where it's generated from. I don't really see how that's possible, but I'm certainly always willing to look into a concern."
On July 11, Little noted that the claims made by Givens-Moore were investigated and that no evidence of fraudulent behavior was found.
She says the emails in question were sent using the Tennesseans for Student Success platform, which TSS offered its free support to JMS.
Through the platform, 42 emails were sent to board members, while only five were generated from outside of Madison County, according to Little.
Now that the charter school's amended application has been denied for a second time, Little has 10 days to appeal to the state charter commission.
When asked if and when she still intends to appeal, Little said, "tomorrow."
Former educators, Jackson Museum School proposed board members, county commissioners, and community leaders spoke during public comment ahead of the vote, expressing strong concerns, support, and some taking a neutral stance.
Debbie Swacker asked the board to vote no on approving the Jackson Museum School.
"I have always been a strong advocate for fully-funded public school systems and adamantly against any diversion of public funds into any charter school," Swacker said.
"That said, the goals presented by the Jackson Museum School proposal are very appealing. Reconciling these conflicting points of view has been challenging for me. In the end, however, I don't think we should risk our students' education, hoping that the success rate for this one will be different and not lead to further inequities in our education system."
Many of those who encouraged the board to vote for approval were JMS's proposed board members, like JMS Board Chairman Brent Bowker.
"I implore you to be open to change," Bowker said.
"Us being in Jackson, Tennessee, the Hub City, we've got BlueOval coming, we've got a lot of big things coming here, and a lot of [those] things are going to bring in new, diverse careers. We've got tech companies starting up here, a lot of different things. So having those options for those people is going to be big... I'm here, like I said, as proposed chair, to tell you that we will make this work. Believe in us, because we can do it, and we will."
Earlier in the week at the July 7 work session, JMCSS Superintendent Marlon King asked the board to consider JMS as a school-within-a-school model, rather than approving it as a standalone charter school.
He provided the example of Star Academy, which opened its school-within-a-school at North Parkway Middle School in September 2024. The STEM-centered curriculum caters to students who have fallen behind or don't learn as well in conventional classroom formats.
Little previously noted that she was unaware that King would be proposing a school-within-a-school model to the board.
"In response, I currently lack detailed information on what the 'school within a school' proposal would entail. However, my initial thought is that if our application and model are robust enough for such a partnership, they should also suffice for local authorization," she said.
Sarah Best is a reporter for The Jackson Sun. To support local journalism, subscribe to the Daily Briefing here.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Jackson-Madison Co school board denies Jackson Museum charter school
