"We understand persecution, and you just push forward through every obstacle," said Khan, who declined to explain the church's decision to stop fighting the eviction. "We're not going away. Our church is about to celebrate 20 years in ministry and we're going stronger than ever before."
What impact the move could have on Khan's charter ambition is unclear. Khan said he still planned to open Regis, which would be a secular public institution, in time for the coming school year. He declined to say where it would be.
A New Jersey Department of Education spokesman said Thursday that Regis planned to locate in the former Living Faith Christian Academy on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill and that state officials had recently inspected the facility.
"I want to be careful. I can't comment on that," Khan said when asked about the property. (emphasis mine)
Oh, and what a coincidence! The owner of the "new facility," Living Faith Ministries, wouldn't comment either!
So what are the terms established between Amir Khan and Living Faith Ministries, the owner of the property?
Maybe the DOE knows, but the public sure doesn't!
Check out the Regis Board Meeting Minutes from the June 21st meeting. Amir Khan reported:
Solid Rock WC has received mortgage approval and
the State preparedness visit has been re-scheduled for 6/27/12 at 2:00 PM
So, six days before the preparedness visit at a PUBLIC MEETING Amir Khan, PRESIDENT of the Board of Trustees conveniently FORGOT to mention where that visit would take place?
This is all very, very fishy.
Solid Rock has faced an eviction lawsuit from Holy Eucharist Parish of Cherry Hill, the property’s owner. The dispute’s status could not be determined Thursday.
That's odd, because community activists had no problem uncovering the following details:
- June 15th a "warrant for removal" was issued
- June 15th a lawyer for Solid Rock Worship Center tried to get an emergency stoppage of the removal.
- June 25th the warrant was given to a court officer which would lock them out of the property
- July 13th court date set for a motion to reinstate
These details were confirmed with Camden Diocese spokesman Peter Feuerherd.
When Amir Khan "reported," to his Board of Trustees and the PUBLIC that he had a mortgage and the preparedness visit date had been changed, he had to know that he was about to be locked out.
District officials and community members have been alerting the Office of Charter Schools for months that eviction proceedings were underway. How that office saw fit to move forward with a preparedness visit on a facility that seems to have materialized out of thin air, is beyond me.
Amir Khan and the NJDOE need to release the terms of Amir Khan's "deal" with the owners of the former Living Faith Christian Academy, and they need to release them NOW!
But Thursday, Khan remained upbeat, saying he was on vacation with his wife and trying to relax ahead of the state's decision about whether the charter could open in two months' time.
"Like everyone else, we just have to sit and wait," he said.
I can assure you Pastor Khan, the community activists and district officials that have been involved in this mess since you received your approval will not sit and wait.
They will demand transparency of you and the NJDOE.
Charter Update…The Superintendent received notification from the Department of Education that the Commissioner has denied final approval for Regis Academy Charter School. In a joint statement issued on July 6, Dr. Reusche and BOE President Seth Klukoff said: “The district's objections to this charter application have been well documented and we are glad that the Commissioner has decided not to grant final approval.” They also expressed gratitude to the many community members who supported the district’s efforts to have the preliminary approval overturned.
ReplyDeleteIn Cherry Hill, as in many suburban school districts, funding for public education comes primarily from local property taxes. Yet, the decision to approve charter school applications rests entirely with the Acting Commissioner of Education. The NJ Assembly has passed legislation (A1877) that would require local approval before the establishment of new charter schools. The Senate version of the bill (S2243) is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Education Committee. We encourage our residents to join us in lobbying the Senate to fix New Jersey’s broken charter school law and bring local control to the charter school approval process.
As per Cherry Hill School District website!