School board approves five-year renewal for Lincoln Charter after public criticism; attorney says one-year option not permitted

The York City School board voted to renew Lincoln Charter School's charter for five years after public commenters urged the board to delay or attach conditions to the renewal.

In public comment before the vote, Cynthia Dodson, a York resident, urged the board to table the renewal and said the charter school has long underperformed. "Lincoln Charter currently is ranked 581 out of 600 schools in the state," Dodson said, and she asserted the school's students are largely not proficient: "95% of its students that are not proficient in math, 83% are not proficient in reading." Dodson said the renewal document offered no conditions or monitored goals and asked the board to consider a shorter renewal period with frequent monitoring.

Robert Riali, vice chairperson of Lincoln Charter School's board of directors, spoke for the charter, saying the school's leadership and board membership have turned over in the past year and pledged continued work to improve performance. "There is room for improvement 100%. And we're not gonna stop," Riali said.

Before the board voted, the district solicitor, identified in the meeting as Attorney Gettle, told the board that state law limits renewal periods. "Section 17 20, a of the Charter School law only allows for the school district to renew charters for a 5 year period," Gettle said, adding that the statute does not permit a one-year renewal except in a specific provision that applies only to school districts of the first class (Philadelphia).

After discussion, the board took a roll-call vote to approve the Lincoln Charter renewal. The vote recorded six in favor, two opposed and one abstention; the board secretary announced the tally as "6 yeses and 2 nos and 1 abstain," and President Kennedy declared the motion carried.

Why it matters: charter renewals determine whether an independently operated public school continues to operate under district oversight and for how long; Dodson and other speakers framed the renewal as an opportunity for the district to require concrete, monitored improvement steps.

Board action and next steps: The board approved the five-year renewal as the statute allows. Members of the public and the charter board urged follow-up oversight and implementation of improvement plans; the board did not attach shorter-term conditions at the meeting.

Quotes and attributions are taken from public comment and the meeting record. The board's vote and Attorney Gettle's statutory clarification were recorded during the meeting proceedings.