Imagine and White's School officials say a letter is not enough to squash a proposed deal to open a charter school in the former Village Woods Middle School building.

The letter from East Allen County Schools, which was provided to The News-Sentinel on Tuesday, says the district is exercising its right of first refusal. That would return the building to the district for $1 because White's owners are trying to transfer ownership of the building to Imagine. However, the letter does offer to revoke the right of first refusal if the owners of White's School for the Performing Arts agree to prohibit illegal activity, consumption or sale of alcohol or tobacco products on the property, and use of the property as part of a public or charter school. The letter also renews and extends EACS' right of first refusal to purchase the property until March 2014.

“There's no way that they can change something that has been signed by us (and by EACS),” Brenda White said. The Whites had not formally responded to the district's letter as of Tuesday afternoon.

Superintendent Karyle Green said the changes to the agreement are only coming because the Whites wanted to change it first. Green said she was approached by the Whites a few weeks ago and was asked if the five-year limitation could be eliminated from the agreement so that ownership could be transferred to Imagine Schools. The district said no.

Green said none of this would be an issue if the Whites would wait another year and a half to make the sale. At that time, the five-year agreement would be over. But Green suspects the early push could be because of the debt incurred by White's School.

Brenda White says it's not about the money, though.

“It's not about selling the building. It's about utilizing the building for something as positive as Imagine,” White said, explaining that White's School would continue to operate in the building alongside Imagine.

The Village Woods building at 2700 E. Maple Grove Ave. was given to Ralph and Brenda White in 2006. From that, they created White's School for Performing Arts, which offers a variety of programs including martial arts training, educational programs, child care and other activities.

But the center has accumulated at least $600,000 in debt, according to Imagine MASTer Academy board president Don Willis, and in July was sued by a man claiming to have been denied more than $1,000 in winnings at a legal gambling facility run by the Whites that has since closed.

Imagine Schools is looking at the building for its newest charter school, the Bridge Academy. Willis and Brenda White said the school would benefit the neighborhood and provide options to families to send their children to something other than a public school.


Charter schools operate as independent public schools, but are not as limited by state curriculum requirements and are held more accountable academically.

Willis said he is not so concerned about getting the White's School building - in fact Imagine is looking at other locations as well - but it was a way to help the community.

“It's not hurting us. We'll go somewhere else, but it's hurting the neighborhood and the kids,” he said.

Willis had originally said that he was going to speak at Tuesday night's EACS school board meeting, but there was no mention of the negotiations from the board or Willis. Green did say that 185 petitions were delivered to the district Tuesday in favor of the White's proposed deal with Imagine, but she said only 28 of the signatures were from East Allen residents.

Green said the matter has not yet been discussed by the board because it is still in the negotiation stage. If the agreement was to be altered, then the board would need to approve that action.