UPDATE: Madison Prep voted down by school board

Just after midnight on Dec. 20, the Madison Metropolitan School District board voted 5-2 against proposed charter school, Madison Prep. School Board president James Howard and Lucy Mathiak were the only members who voted for the school.

Proposed to close the achievement gap between white and African American and Latino students in Madison, the charter school would have opened this fall in the former facilities of Mount Olive Lutheran Church at 4018 Mineral Point Road. The school was proposed to teach boys and girls separately, but in the same building.

The school would have implemented longer school days and years, and would have required uniforms. According to the Urban League of Greater Madison, the primary backer of Madison Prep, 50 percent of African-Americans who enter high school in Madison do not graduate.

Madison Prep has faced intense scrutiny regarding budget, employment and district oversight in recent weeks. Madison Teachers Inc., the local teachers’ union, and Superintendant Dan Nerad signaled opposition to the proposal ahead of the vote.

A measure to delay opening Madison Prep until 2013 also failed at the school board meeting.