A charter school that the Indianapolis mayor decided last year should be shut down because of poor performance is staying open under new sponsorship from Ball State University.
Critics tell The Indianapolis Star that such a scenario demonstrates the danger that poor-performing charter schools can shop around for new sponsors when accountability gets too tough.
The Indianapolis mayor's office and Ball State are the only institutions now sponsoring charter schools, which are state-funded public schools run independently from traditional school districts.
Fountain Square Academy in Indianapolis was the state's first charter school set to close solely because of academic troubles.
Ball State charter school director Bob Marra says the grades 7-12 school has seen test scores improve over the past year and the university is increasing its accountability standards.
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