The Delta County School Board has denied a North Fork Valley group its request for charter school recognition.
The Valley Charter Initiative is a group of parents and educators trying to open a Waldorf inspired public charter school in Paonia.
On Wednesday the five-member school board unanimously denied the initiative's request.
Kurt Clay, the assistant superintendent for the school district, says the board cited seven reasons for rejecting the charter.
"There was a large concern with the curriculum from the standpoint that it doesn't match up with the state," Clay says. "In fact, several places in the application it talks about testing not being a priority, not that tests need to drive education or curriculum, but in the Waldorf [model] it’s not really a priority at all."
Initiative officials say the Waldorf method focuses on teaching kids to use their hands and discourages the use of technology in the classroom.
Clay says the board also cited declining district enrollment and concerns over finances and long-term sustainability as reasons for charter denial.
The group can appeal the board’s decision to the state.