MT. JEWETT – The Mt. Jewett Borough Council has lashed out against the unanimous decision by the Kane School Board to reject an application for a Charter School in Mt. Jewett.

Members of the borough council directed harsh language at the school board before voting Monday on a resolution to “condemn the decision.”

MT. JEWETT – The Mt. Jewett Borough Council has lashed out against the unanimous decision by the Kane School Board to reject an application for a Charter School in Mt. Jewett.

Members of the borough council directed harsh language at the school board before voting Monday on a resolution to “condemn the decision.”

Although Council President Chuck Paar said the resolution “condemns” the decision and “not the board or its members,” he said he is “tired” of the “condescending arrogance” shown by the school board in dealing with the Mt. Jewett Charter School Coalition.

Paar, a member of the Coalition, said “it’s time for council to make a statement.”

Missy Swanson, a Coalition member, said the resolution is “very powerful” and “will really help us” in efforts to establish the Mt. Jewett Area Charter School for Academic Excellence.

The school board, for the second time within a year, voted 9-0 last month to reject the Coalition’s application for a Charter School. The Coalition is planning to again appeal to the state Charter School Appeals Board. The Coalition withdrew its initial appeal last year due to lack of time to prepare for the start of classes in late August.

In addition to Paar, Councilmen Brad “Chip” Lannen, Wil Antrim, Paul Ewing, Don Martyna and Pete Crowley also supported the “condemnation” resolution. Councilman Brett Morgan cast the lone negative vote.

According to the resolution, “it is the opinion of this council that this denial was not in the best interest of the Kane Area School District, the community of Mt. Jewett and, most importantly, elementary grade students in the Kane, Smethport, Bradford and Johnsonburg school districts, all of which are directly affected by this decision.”

The proposed Charter School for children in pre-kindergarten (4-year-olds) through fifth grade would welcome students from nearby school districts as well as Kane.

Efforts to bring a Charter School to Mt. Jewett intensified after the school board closed the Mt. Jewett Elementary School at the end of the 2006-07 school year.

As chairman of council’s Business and Education Committee, Paar helped draft the resolution after the school board voted Dec. 3 to reject an amended Charter School application.

“We must be careful to be specific about the condemnation of the decision and not necessarily the school board as a whole,” Paar said in a report to council members and Mt. Jewett Mayor Tom Geer.

During discussion on the resolution, Paar criticized Stephanie Eckstrom, a Mt. Jewett resident who has been elected as the new president of the Kane School Board.

Without mentioning her name, he claimed that Eckstrom supported efforts to keep the Mt. Jewett Elementary School open before she was elected to the school board. He said she has since “turned 180 degrees” and has gone in “the other direction.” He said she “never” explained her “turnabout.”

Eckstrom, who was elected last month as the new president of the nine-member school board, declined to comment on Paar’s remarks or the council resolution.

Paar, who joined council a year ago, also chastised previous borough councils for failure to adopt legislation critical of school board action involving the charter school application.

“Nobody had backbone,” Paar said in reference to previous borough councils.

Morgan said he praises the Coalition for its efforts to create a Charter School in Mt. Jewett. However, he believes that the resolution will “create ill will” between the council and the school board and may “rile them up.”

“The school board and the Mt. Jewett borough need to work together,” Morgan said in defending his stance against the resolution.

Martyna said he is a Coalition supporter, but believes the resolution carries some “very, very strong words” directed at the school board.

“We’re not going to change them,” Martyna said. He said the resolution is “lowering us to their level.”

Crowley agreed that the resolution carries “strong wording.” But he believes the establishment of a Charter School is “one of the most pivotal moments in Mt. Jewett history.”

“Why are we afraid of what the school board thinks?” Crowley said.

Lannen, also a member of the Coalition, read a 2 ½-page statement in support of the resolution.

Lannen claimed “it was obvious that the majority of the school board had not even read the application or noted any revisions.”

“The time is long overdue for the political leaders of Mt. Jewett to come together not only to support the Charter School proposal, but to express our disapproval of the school board and their decision to deny the charter application,” Lannen said in his statement. “Being nice hasn’t worked in the past.

“It is time this council takes a more proactive and offensive stand concerning the charter proposal. We can no longer sit back and be silent for fear of possibly offending the school board while they continue to shun the resident of Mt. Jewett with their condescending arrogance.”

Antrim said he’s “not sure” the board is “showing arrogance.” But he wonders why the school board hasn’t outlined its reasons for denying the charter school application.

The Coalition has obtained more than enough signatures on petitions required in the appeal process.

If the application is approved by the state Charter School Appeal Board, the Coalition plans to open its school by August. Denied use of the former Mt. Jewett Elementary School, the Coalition plans to open the Charter School in a wing of St. Matthews Lutheran Church on East Main Street.