NJDOE Taking Their Own Sweet Time Granting Final Charters

So, July 15th came and went.  It's supposed to be the day approved applicants are granted their final charter and cleared to open in September. 

Here's the timeline.

But nothing.  No announcement.  Nada.

According to the state, there are 9 charters pending in New Jersey.  

Atlantic City Community Charter and Camden Community Charter were scheduled to open in 2011 but needed two planning years to get off the ground.  Maybe 2013 will be their lucky year!

Saint Phillips Academy will be the state's first conversion of a private (religious) school to a charter school. 

Paterson Arts and Science was one of two Paterson applications approved in February. Hop over to my friend Jersey Jazzman for the skinny on this Gulen charter.

Quite a line up so far, eh? Two charters that have taken not one but TWO planning years to get off the ground, a former Catholic school and a Gulen charter.

The rest of the charters 'pending final approval' were given the go ahead in January 2012. They should have opened in September 2012 but were granted an additional planning year last July when the Commissioner cleaned house and got rid of a significant number of pending applications that had either become dead wood or too controversial.

But let's go back to the fact that the decisions should have been announced yesterday and the state didn't make a peep. Look at the timeline above.  Not only are charter applications due on a specific date, but by a specific TIME.  If they aren't in, you lose.  Your application is disqualified.  

But the state misses their deadline on the timeline, and that's just fine.

The NJDOE claims the announcement will be made before the end of the week, and you better believe I'll be waiting. 

And be prepared for some fireworks from me after the list is released.  I've been doing some research on one of the charters pending approval, and let's just say, it's a pretty spicy story.  

Perhaps one of my spiciest...