Sunnyside Charter School Petition Rejected

Washington's statewide charter schools commission decided Thursday to approve one new school and reject three others.

Approved was a proposal from Green Dot Public Schools to open a middle and high school in Seattle in fall 2016, which would be the charter management organization's second school in Washington. Earlier this year, the California company got approval to open a school in Tacoma in fall 2015.

The most heated conversation at the meeting in Yakima surrounded a proposal for a school in Sunnyside, in central Washington, because the organizers did not appear to have community support and the ability to work in a culturally-diverse community.

Also rejected were proposals to open a bilingual school in Vancouver, Washington, and a school for kids with special needs in DuPont, a community near Joint Base Lewis McChord.