Swan Meadow Heritage Charter School withdraws application; board and advocates reflect on process

Jonathan Yoder, a representative of the Swan Meadow Heritage Charter School board of directors, addressed the Garrett County Board of Education during public comment Sept. 9 to announce that Swan Meadow had retracted its charter application.

Yoder said the decision to withdraw the application “was not an easy decision to make, but we felt and we still feel that it was the right one.” He thanked the board for prior support and said Swan Meadow plans to fulfill obligations tied to a grant for a playground.

Board members responding in open session expressed regret the charter effort did not proceed but said they respected the decision. The board president thanked district staff — specifically Dr. McCartney and Dr. Miller — for their work attempting to make a charter option viable and said the board accepted the withdrawal of the application.

Yoder invited the board and community to the Swan Meadow Harvest Sale on June 26 at the Plaza Valley Community Center and said the school is working to regain student enrollment lost during the application process. No formal board action was taken during the meeting on the charter application; the comment was recorded in the public comment portion of the agenda, where the board stated that remarks would not be discussed or acted on during the same session.