Northwest Indy residents, officials decry proposed opening of Valor Classical Academy in Marion County

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Dozens of Marion County residents, educators and elected officials made it clear at an April 10 public hearing that they are not interested in a proposed charter school opening in their community.

The standing-room-only meeting, held at Embassy Suites near I-465 and Michigan Road, was held by Grace Schools Charter Authority to gather feedback on a plan by Valor Classical Academy to launch in a nearby office building this fall. Valor initially aimed to open in Hamilton County, but because it is now considering a location in Marion County, GSCA – Valor’s authorizer – was required by state law to hold a hearing there, too.

Several people with ties to Pike Township said they didn’t feel Valor is committed to the community and is only considering it as a backup plan, including MSD of Pike Township Supt. Larry Young, who said he had only learned of the proposal the previous week.

“Valor Classical Academy has no interest in being in Pike Township,” Young said. “To my knowledge, there has been absolutely no engagement with the Pike Township community.”

Other remonstrators expressed concern about Valor’s proposed demographics (60 percent white, 18 percent Black and 12 percent Hispanic) not aligning with schools in the area, such as Pike High School, which has a student body of 90 percent minorities. Some took issue with Valor’s ties to Hillsdale College, which produced curriculum to be used by Valor through its Barney Charter Schools Initiative. The small Christian college in Michigan has ties to conservative causes and politicians, and its president has made controversial remarks about public educators.

The majority of speakers remonstrated against Valor, including a few Grace College graduates, but several in attendance expressed support.

Joel Harsin said he looks forward to Valor opening because the public school options near where he lives in downtown Indianapolis are not a good fit for his family.

“You don’t have to send your kids to Valor if you don’t want to, if you don’t like the curriculum or what they stand for,” he said. “But since when are these core values exclusively some sort of right-wing Christian foundation? They are things we should all strive for, such as manners and respect.”

During the meeting, MaryAnn Schlegel Ruegger, a former member of the Indiana Charter School Board, said she confirmed through discussions with Indianapolis City-County Councilor Dan Boots that the proposed location for Valor is 3600 Woodview Trace in an office building that previously housed a university. She said Valor will need to petition for rezoning of the site or a variance, as a K-12 school is not currently an authorized use.

Valor founding board member Holly Wilson, who previously declined to disclose the location before a lease is signed, confirmed the proposed location after the meeting.

The hearing closed with remarks from two politicians representing Pike Township who arrived just before the meeting concluded.

Indianapolis City-County Councilor Leroy Robinson, a Democrat, guaranteed that if rezoning of the proposed site for Valor makes it as far as the council, he would lead the charge in defeating it.

“You have my word, I will get the votes to defeat it if it comes before us,” Robinson said.

State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, also a Democrat, had the last word, saying that he’s not opposed to parents having options for their children’s education but that it should not come at the expense of traditional public schools, specifically those serving large numbers of minority students.

After the meeting, Wilson acknowledged that Valor’s charter has a heavy focus on Hamilton County, as the school’s founders spent two years expecting to open there and is still researching sites in that area.

“It hurt some feelings that we haven’t spent time in, that we don’t live in and that we don’t go to church or school in (Marion County), and that can certainly be remediated,” Wilson said. “We can come in and spend time with these people. It won’t be with just Pike Township, because it’s more than just Pike Township, but we can come into the county and spend more time and certainly we’ll do that if it’s required by our authorizer.”

Wilson said Valor is continuing to pursue options in Hamilton County and that one site near the former Orchard Park Elementary, a location Valor unsuccessfully sued Carmel Clay Schools to use, looks promising and will not need to be rezoned.

GSCA will accept public feedback on Valor’s proposal to open in Marion County through April 12 at grace.edu/about/charter-schools/application-process/application-submissions/valor-academy-public-comment-submission-form. It will announce its ruling after reviewing all feedback.


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