Montgomery's first charter school most likely won't open this year after a judge ruled it failed to receive enough votes for its application to be approved.
The Alabama Education Association sued LEAD Academy after the Alabama Public Charter School Commission approved the charter school in a 5 to 1 vote back in February. The association claimed six votes were necessary to pass.
Montgomery Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines ruled in favor of the AEA yesterday.
Associate Director Theron Stokes released a statement saying the association will "fight all attempts to illegally divert public school dollars from Alabama classrooms to out-of-state, for-profit, charter school corporations."
The school's chairwoman Charlotte Meadows said "it's a sad day for our students" but "this is not the end of a charter school in Montgomery." She says she's looking at legal options, but the start date will likely be delayed to 2019.