Peekskill Charter School Organizers to Regroup after Setback

Less than a week after being notified by the state Education Department that their application for a charter school in Peekskill was declined, organizers are still searching for answers.

On Friday, the founding board for the proposed Guardian Academy Charter School of Peekskill said they were notified by the state that their application did not make it to the next step in the chartering process.

Audrey Warn, lead applicant for the proposed school, said her group has yet to hear why the application was declined.

“We understand we will be given reasons by letter in 2 to 3 weeks,” Warn said.

Officials from the state Education Department were asked about the Guardian Academy proposal, but were unable to respond by Tuesday.

The Guardian Academy would have been placed inside the Assumption School, which is closing at the end of this school year. The charter school would have opened during the 2014-2015 school year if it had received state approval.

Warn said the founding board members of the charter school will meet once they receive the state’s explanation for the application’s proposal.

“As we understand it, we do have the option to reapply and our board will be convening to explore our next steps once we get that from the state Education Department,” Warn said.