Ferrum College president hopes Virginia will consider applying to lab school

This story was reported and written by our media partner Virginia Mercury.

Ferrum College’s hopes of creating a specialized laboratory school have ended after months of discussions with state leaders, but the college’s president is still waiting for a different outcome.

According to documents from the Virginia Department of Education, the private southwest Virginia school joins more than a dozen institutions that are not being considered, some of which have withdrawn their applications, including Eastern Shore Community College, Southside Virginia Community College, Hampton University and the University of Lynchburg.

Ferrum College President Mirta Martin blamed the state for changes during the review process after receiving a nearly $200,000 laboratory school planning grant.

Martin said she received a call from Education Secretary Aimee Guidera last month to tell her the news.

“At that moment, I told him very frankly: I am not going to go silently into the night because this is not a political issue; it’s doing the right thing for some of Virginia’s most underserved populations,” Martin said in an interview last month with the Mercury.

According to the Virginia Department of Education, Ferrum was given additional time to answer questions before his application was ultimately reviewed by the department for the College Partnership Lab’s school committee.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has actively sought to create laboratory schools, much like charter schools, to provide another level of educational choices with specialized instruction. But opponents, including Democrats, say the schools are cutting funding for public schools.

As part of the approval process, which involves the Department of Education reviewing things such as program details and budget assumptions, applicants are asked to withdraw their application at any time and resubmit at a later date .

Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said Guidera and staff at the Virginia Department of Education had “openly communicated” that the new budget language reduced the funding available for operating lab schools, which would have an impact on the evaluation of certain proposals.

Private institutions, including Ferrum, faced another challenge in the process when the governor and lawmakers agreed last month to a budget requiring them to submit their applications alongside a public higher education institution of four years to manage the financial and administrative tasks of each laboratory. school and enact an annual reporting requirement relating to financial sustainability.

“As Virginia continues to emerge as a national leader in laboratory school development, Governor Youngkin will focus on restoring excellence in education by creating innovative pathways for students to explore careers potential and better prepare for their future in the Commonwealth,” Martinez said.

Ferrum’s take on the process

Ferrum officials pointed to pending rule changes to explain why its application failed to reach the bid committee for review.

The college asked for $10.6 million for the first four years, which is more than what schools like James Madison University, with larger enrollment, are asking for. JMU asked for $7 million.

Martin said the requested funding is intended to cover a larger territory than other institutions.

According to published documents that were later removed from the Department of Education’s website, the agency first received the application from Ferrum College’s Academy for Opportunity and Innovation on February 1. The proposed academy would have focused on providing high school students interested in employment in public service and healthcare. -related fields.

Officials also said many of the committee’s questions have already been answered or included in the application.

According to college officials, the department asked Ferrum to expand Franklin County High School’s application to 12 school divisions after he submitted the first version of his application. Ferrum officials said they made the changes despite potential travel issues in the Southwest.

Officials also faced another challenge when state lawmakers added provisions in the biennial budget requiring private institutions to partner with public institutions on applications to lab schools.

“If the rules had been consistent from the start of the process, we would have had a financial partner from day one, but this was introduced when we were already lining up to appear before the standing committee,” Jason Powell said. , associate vice president for academic affairs and director of innovation and research at Ferrum College.

According to Powell, the administrative costs of these subsidies will likely increase, even doubling, after the budget decision.

Despite the anticipated costs, Martin said Ferrum would be willing to find a public institutional partner over four years.

“We’ve never had this opportunity, but if we have the opportunity, we will comply,” Martin said. “We will find a financial agent that will partner with us…to be able to provide this critical education to this underserved population.” »

Lab Schools Update

On May 21, after an hour-long closed session with its legal team, the Board of Education approved two lab school applications: one from Old Dominion University to establish a school in Suffolk, the other from George Mason University to establish a school in Frederick. .

“These two lab schools will bring valuable STEM training to the Hampton Roads and Shenandoah Valley communities and bring our total to 14 across the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a May 22 statement. Lab schools have been a priority education issue for Youngkin’s administration and a sticking point among Democratic lawmakers.

Partnering with institutions of higher education, creating the state-approved curriculum, Lab Schools provide students with free education for careers in computer science and technology. Admission to laboratory schools is based on a lottery system.

Five schools that successfully submitted lab school applications – Emory & Henry and Roanoke Colleges, as well as Mountain Gateway, Paul D. Camp and Germanna Community Colleges – will be required to resubmit them after the budget language of the recently passed state emphasized that state code does not allow it. funding lab schools to go to private or two-year colleges, a position Democrats have long held.

Todd Reid, a VDOE spokesman, said he would not be able to provide an update on the status of applications submitted by private institutions.

The Youngkin administration, with support from the attorney general’s office, previously said state law does not prohibit the committee from accepting applications from all institutions.

No new funding for laboratory schools was included in the two-year budget, after the governor proposed $60 million for such schools, which lawmakers declined to add to the spending plan.

According to committee documents from June, the current balance of the state’s laboratory school fund is $9,647,232. Norfolk State University and potential partners Old Dominion and Eastern Shore Community College are scheduled to meet with the Lab School Committee on June 10.