Fort Wayne charter school plan moves ahead

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A Fort Wayne civil rights group is moving ahead to start up a new charter school even though some financing concerns remain.

The Fort Wayne Urban League board on Tuesday approved continuing to work on plans for the proposed Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy. Organizers expect to begin registration this spring for the kindergarten through fifth grade school in a former public school building on the city's southeast side.

The Indiana State Charter Schools Board has given the Urban League a five-year charter.

The Journal Gazette reports ( http://bit.ly/HkkdIy ) that Urban League board members raised concerns about the group's liability if the charter school wasn't successful and unable to make its lease payments. They decided any financing deal couldn't include the group's headquarters, which was built eight years ago for $3.5 million.