The North Carolina Education Building in Raleigh. (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
The state Charter Schools Review Board on Monday denied the application of Focus Academy Charter School, which proposed opening a new K-8 charter school in the Garner area of Wake County, citing concerns over the school’s budget and lack of detailed planning.
Board members expressed concern over Focus Academy’s financial projections, noting gaps and lack of detailed planning around staffing, transportation, and student services.
“There are just so many holes in this budget that it’s concerning,” said Board Chair Bruce Friend. “We need to see a much more robust and detailed plan before we can consider moving this application forward.”
Focus Academy proposed to open in the 2026-27 school year with an initial enrollment of 216 students, eventually growing to 462 students by its fifth year of operation.
The review board also raised concerns about the school’s leadership structure, specifically the dual roles of the proposed executive director and principal, Dr. Sherria Grubbs, who was also slated to serve as the board chair. Grubbs told board members that she had initially planned to hire a principal but ultimately decided against it. “I thought about hiring a principal, but in I’ve reached out to a lot of people, talk to a lot of people who already have charter schools, and the conclusion to that was, who can implement my vision better than I can.”
Grubbs said she intended to serve as principal for only two years.
Still, some members expressed concerns about the arrangement. Ultimately, board members remained unconvinced about the application, citing budget gaps and the vacancy rate on the school’s board as significant issues.
“I have a real concern that this application just isn’t ready to open at this point,” said board member Dave Machado. “When you come before this board, a lot of the things that you are asked need to already be in your application. You need to be thinking about that and not waiting on us to give feedback and say, oh, yeah, we could do that.”
Deferring action
The review board also deferred a decision on the application of Bettis Academy, another proposed charter in Wake County, which hopes to open in August 2026.
According to its mission statement, Bettis Academy will seek to “educate underserved students in east Wake County by providing a small learning community, an innovative and academically rigorous curriculum, and hands-on, real-life experiences throughout their academic careers” and aim to serve underserved students facing economic disadvantages, language barriers, disabilities, or homelessness.
At full capacity, Bettis Academy would operate as a K-12 school with a total enrollment of 780 students, a goal it aims to achieve within five years. The school would be located in Zebulon.
Board members cited several areas of concern that they want the Bettis Academy team to address in more detail, including the school’s innovative component and curriculum plans. “We have some questions about the innovative piece they’re bringing to the community, as well as how the curriculum will be developed and implemented, especially at the elementary level,” one board member said.
Bettis Academy was praised for its budget planning and strong partnerships with existing charter schools in the region. However, the board felt more clarity was needed on the school’s academic program and path to providing students access to college-level coursework. The charter applicants will now have the opportunity to address the board’s specific questions at a second interview, tentatively scheduled for December. A final decision on the application will be made at that time.
Wake County already has one of the highest concentrations of charter schools, 26 only behind Mecklenburg County which has 34.
In Garner, where Focused Academy proposed to open, there is currently one private school serving students in grades K-8 and no charter schools, though one is schedule to open in 2025.