Charter panel OKs request by Haas Hall to join operations

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Charter Authorizing Panel last week approved a request to attach Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville, which has its own state-issued charter to operate — to the charter held by the Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville.

The change, if ultimately approved by the Arkansas Board of Education, will result in all four Haas Hall campuses — Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale and Bentonville — operating under a single charter.

Martin Schoppmeyer Jr., founder of the nationally acclaimed open-enrollment charter school system, said

the consolidation of the campuses under one charter will simplify operations by eliminating duplication in paperwork and reporting.

Amending state-issued charters to add campuses isn’t at all unusual in Arkansas and typically not controversial. In this particular case, the Haas Hall-Bentonville charter is due to expire June 30 and, without approval to attach to the Fayetteville charter, the Bentonville campus wouldn’t be authorized to operate effective July 1.

School system leaders didn’t meet deadlines last year for submitting a charter renewal application.

Mark Henry, an attorney for the Haas Hall schools, told the Charter Authorizing Panel it has long been the intent of the system to seek approval to put the Bentonville campus under the Fayetteville charter umbrella. This isn’t a case of the Bentonville school being caught without a renewal application, Henry said.

The Bentonville campus was started with its own charter as a way for the campus to qualify for federal startup money of as much as $500,000, Schoppmeyer said.