Charter school sets sights on Weylu’s

SAUGUS – It’s been years since the old Weylu’s restaurant overlooking Route 1 has been open, but the temple-like structure, which looks ripped from Beijing’s Forbidden City, may find a new use as a school.Barish Icin, executive director of the Pioneer Charter School of Science in Everett, said he is looking at Weylu’s as a possible location for a second school.”There are a couple of locations we are looking at, and that’s one of the sites that we liked,” said Icin in a phone interview on Wednesday. “We haven’t started negotiating with them but we like that location because it has huge land that you can build on eventually ?”Icin said he hopes to start small for the 2013 school year, with about 180 students in grades seven through eight. After that, Icin said he wants to expand up to grade 12 with a maximum of 360 students within five years.”We will be talking to them to see if we can rent part of it then grow and become bigger,” said Icin. “It’s been empty for a long time, so hopefully that will bring down the price a little, and the location is nice.”Icin has worked in the charter school industry for several years and was a founding member of the Central Jersey College Prep Charter School in 2005 and the Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School in 2010, both of which are in New Jersey.”In New Jersey I had various charter school applications,” said Icin. “On some of them I was a writer and on some of them I was the lead applicant.”On some applications the name “E. Barish Icin” appears while on a rejected application for the Raritan Arts and Science Charter School, the name “Ms. Eylem Icin” is listed.Icin said Eylem is his first name and Barish is actually his middle name, and noted that the name listed on the Raritan school application was simply a mistake.”Unfortunately when something becomes a public document, there isn’t a way to go and fix that,” he said. “I’m used to people kidding my name, that’s why I’m using my middle name because it’s much easier to pronounce.”Icin also brushed off criticism from some groups that claim many charter schools are run by a Turkish group known as the Gülen Movement, which follows the teaching of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish exile currently living in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.”A lot of people bring that up and try to associate us with that,” said Icin. “Sometimes it’s because of your name or your background. But we are a public school, period. We are run by the state, audited by the state and controlled by the state. I usually ignore it. There are some people who no matter you say ? they have a certain hatred against charter schools and a hatred against certain people. No matter what you do you are not going to change their minds. So what I do is focus on my work and make sure my students are getting the best education they can.”School Committee member Arthur Grabowski said he was concerned about the school district having to pay more money out of its budget to support the school. According to the charter application, the town would pay $12,300 per student, which Grabowski equated to paying for another vocational school.”Where will that money come from? That will come out of the taxpayer and probably reduce the school budget,” said Grabowski. “It’s non-negotiable and we have no say in it. It’s a for-profit organization and they have investors. I just find it very troubling that resident tax money is going to a for-profit school that will pay off its investors.”However, the state provides 100 percent reimbursement for the first year, known as Chapter 46 aid, and 25 percent for the next five years, according to the state Department of Education website. (http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/finance/tuition/Reimbursements.html)There will be a public hearing at the Saugus Library on Monday, Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. for public input on the proposed school.For more information on the Pioneer Charter School of Science, the application can be found here http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/