Committee recommends Torchlight Academy's charter be renewed

Raleigh, N.C. — A state Board of Education committee agreed Wednesday to renew Torchlight Academy’s charter but to impose restrictions.

Torchlight Academy was found to be among the lowest-performing charter school statewide in a North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research report in 2007.

The report recommended that schools not meeting expected academic growth for five straight years be placed on probation for two years, then closed if they don't reach it.

The full board will vote Thursday on the proposal.

The number of charter schools in North Carolina is capped at 100. Bills filed in this session of the General Assembly would lift that cap.

A bill introduced in the General Assembly on Wednesday would also allow counties to provide funding to charter schools. Efforts to lift the cap have failed in the past, mainly because there isn't enough staff to oversee the current schools.