“After almost five years of discussions with state education authorities, McKinney’s first charter school is facing a final set of hurdles before opening — and is considering a location in the city’s downtown courthouse building.
The McKinney Performing Arts Center opened in 2006 in the town-square courthouse building after a $9 million renovation. Vacated by the county in 1979, the building had been the subject of years of debate over its use.
Pending final approval from the Texas Education Agency and city approval to rent the space, Imagine International Academy of North Texas will begin classes for 225 students this fall, Imagine school board President Ann Carrell said.
The McKinney City Council on Tuesday discussed the logistics of putting a school in the arts center during the day, and tabled the motion until its Monday work session.
‘There are issues of pickup and drop-off; there are issues of security; there are issues of the facility being able to conform with the standard of a school site,’ city parks and recreation director Lemuel Randolph said when introducing the agenda item to the council. ‘Many of those issues have been vetted. There are still some remaining issues that need to be vetted.’
The building is owned by Collin County, and the City of McKinney rents space for the arts center. Council members raised concerns at Tuesday’s meeting about the terms of that lease, along with traffic issues and the effect the school’s presence would have on the council’s ability to issue alcohol permits for city events.
McKinney City Attorney Mark Houser told council members he would check on the terms of the lease, but said it probably could be amended.
Temporary site
When the arts center opened, city officials hoped packed performances would produce a profit and create a hub of activity at the center of downtown. But the arts center’s reception has been lackluster. Moving Imagine International Academy into the space could have the added benefit of boosting nearby businesses and increasing foot traffic in the area, Randolph told the council.
Imagine would lease the arts center space for one school year while building a permanent facility on Virginia Parkway west of Central Expressway, Carrell said.
The school would pay $88,000 in rent, in addition to custodial funds and the difference in utility costs for use of the arts center as a school site, city officials said. All typical uses of the arts facility would continue.
State approval awaited
Besides the issue of space, Imagine International Academy still needs to get final approval from the state, which TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said is in its final stages.
Carrell said she expects the school will receive its county district number by the end of this week, and then will complete a signed contract with the state.
TEA’s attorneys had repeatedly expressed concern about the McKinney charter school’s proposed contract with Imagine Schools Inc. The charter school operator has been scrutinized in the past for its level of control over its schools and how it spends public money.
But the school and state have ironed out those kinks, Carrell said, so now the location — along with hiring an upper school director, a business manager and nine teachers — is all that remains to be determined before the school can open applications to prospective students.”
Article published on May 18, 2011 by the Dallas Morning News