Charter school relocating to avoid shutdown by SCS

Gateway University charter school will have a new home this fall, avoiding a potential shutdown after a year operating outside Shelby County Schools boundaries. SCS confirmed June 26 the school was able to provide documentation of a new facility for the upcoming school year.

The school board did not vote June 26 on a previous recommendation from SCS administrators to close the school by revoking its charter.

Gateway opened last year in Bartlett, outside SCS. District leaders had concerns at the time, as the school said it would operate in Downtown Memphis.

A spokesperson for Gateway said the school will move to 3333 Old Brownsville Road in Memphis. That’s still a stone’s throw from Bartlett, but within the SCS limits and about two miles from the previous location on Stage Road.

The state attorney general issued two opinions last fall saying charter schools are supposed to open within the boundaries of the district that oversees them. The legislature then beefed up the state’s charter school laws to specify the location restriction.

As a result, it would have been against the law for the school to keep operating in Bartlett, SCS officials said. The state Department of Education set a July 1 deadline from the school to find a new home within the limits of SCS.