The Rutherford County School Board voted on June 24 to deny Rocketship Tennessee’s charter application, ending the district-level authorization process after a split initial vote and a subsequent roll-call vote to deny based on the school committee’s report.
The board’s decision followed public comment from multiple speakers in favor of Rocketship and an extended discussion among members about readiness, finance and fidelity to the committee’s review. The board’s motion to deny cited the committee report and asked Rocketship to address discrepancies in the application before submitting again to the district or pursuing state approval.
The committee that reviewed the application recommended denial, and board members who served on that panel described a thorough review process. Board member comments focused on three core concerns: discrepancies between Rocketship’s application and the county’s findings, unresolved instructional or procedural details that the committee could not verify from the submitted materials, and the need to protect district performance and existing schools.
Supporters who spoke during public comment said Rocketship’s model brings strong academics and parent partnership and pointed to performance at other Rocketship campuses. Speakers included teachers, parents and school leaders who described Rocketship’s small-school model, emphasis on family engagement and data-driven instruction. Several board members acknowledged those points but said they could not override the committee’s technical findings without clear evidence in the application itself.
Board members debated whether denying locally would simply send the application to the state; several noted that state authorization remains an option and that a state-approved charter would operate under a different accountability and funding framework. Legal and district staff explained the difference: if the district authorizes a charter it is listed under Rutherford County Schools performance; a state-authorized charter would appear separately on the state report card and receive state funding directly.
The final roll-call vote to deny recorded four votes in favor of denial and three opposed. The board recorded no immediate follow-up directives beyond encouraging Rocketship to revise its application and allowing the organization to reapply or pursue state authorization.
Rocketship’s application and the committee report are part of the public record for the district’s charter authorization process; any further filings or appeals would be handled either by Rutherford County Schools if resubmitted or by the Tennessee Charter Commission if the applicant chooses to seek state authorization.