A charter school that escaped closure is up for renewal

The Department of Education has just announced a renewal hearing for Northside Charter High School in Williamsburg early in the new year.

The school wasn’t always supposed to live this long. In early 2012, the state announced that it would close Believe Northside Charter School and another school because of management and financial improprieties by their network. But the state dropped that plan after the school separated from the network, whose founder and CEO, Eddie Calderon-Melendez, was later indicted for tax fraud and grand larceny. The school officially dropped “Believe” from its name in April.

Now, the school is seeking permission to continue to operate through 2019. The city invites “anyone interested in learning” about the school’s bid for a charter renewal to a hearing Jan. 8.