MoCo school board orders closure of county’s only charter school  

Board approves dissolution plan for MECCA Business Learning Institute

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April 30, 2026 8:31 p.m.

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In a final vote Thursday afternoon, the Montgomery County school board decided to close the county’s only charter school, MECCA Business Learning Institute (MBLI). 

The decision, occurring less than a year after MBLI opened, followed concerns first expressed last fall by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) about the charter school’s compliance with special education laws and other issues.  

The board voted 6-2 to approve a resolution based on MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s December recommendation that it begin formal proceedings to revoke MBLI’s charter as well as approve a dissolution plan for the charter school. Thursday’s vote was the final decision regarding the school’s closure. Board members Rita Montoya, Laura Stewart, Julie Yang, Karla Silvestre, Natalie Zimmerman and Student Member of the Board Anuva Maloo voted in favor of the resolution. 

Board President Grace Rivera-Oven and Vice President Brenda Wolff voted against the recommendation and dissolution plan, citing concerns over due process and the closure being premature. 

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“I still believe that placing MBLI under a remediation plan with close monitoring and realistic metrics would provide a fair process,” Wolff said Thursday. “I struggle with this as a matter of due process. I really do. I believe there are concerns. I also believe that under the charter agreement there is a framework to systematically evaluate these concerns.”  

Despite several community members advocating to the board against the closure of the school in recent months, including during a contentious February board meeting, no representatives for the charter school attended the meeting on Thursday. Charter school representatives also didn’t immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s emailed request for comment Thursday.  

“MBLI remains committed to serving students safely and lawfully continuing corrective action where required, and working transparently with MCPS as our authorizer,” MBLI marketing and communications consultant Princess Lyles told the board in January. “We are not asking the board to overlook challenges. We are asking for what is fair, what is due and what is in the best interest of students, families and the people who believe in this school going forward.”  

The dissolution process details several tasks that the district and MBLI must complete by specific dates, including providing financial statements, completing final payroll processing, and transferring staff. The charter will be revoked effective June 30.  

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According to the Maryland State Department of Education, charter schools are publicly funded schools operated by independent organizations that are tuition-free and open to all students. Local school boards can award an organization a charter agreement, which grants the school more operational autonomy than traditional public schools. 

MBLI opened in August and is currently offering classes to an enrollment of sixth and seventh graders. It recently moved from its temporary Bethesda location to a permanent building in Germantown.    

In Taylor’s December letter to the school board recommending the closure, he said the charter school violated special education laws, failed to implement required corrective actions and released private student information to the media.   

Thursday’s closure decision was a culmination of challenges facing the charter school, which had dealt with other issues including location problems before its August opening.  The most recent challenges included accusations of nonpayment for services by SafeSeats LLC, a transportation company, according to an April 16 school board meeting.  

At that meeting, charter school officials told the board they had informed the transportation vendor that the school’s financial position has changed and the vendor “didn’t discuss terms” concerning payment. Michelle Stawinski, a lawyer representing SafeSeats LLC, declined Monday to comment to Bethesda Today about the payment issue.  

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MBLI first applied in 2021 to the county school board for permission to open its charter school.     

The school board declined the charter school’s application in 2022, a decision MBLI appealed to the Maryland State Board of Education. In a 2023 decision, the state education board found MCPS didn’t provide a “reasonable, articulated basis” to deny the application, and directed the district to approve the application for the school, according to school board documents. 

After MCPS and MBLI established a contract in November 2023 for the charter school, the school’s founders provided budget and facility planning documents over the following months. The school board voted Sept. 26, 2024, to allow MBLI to operate beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. 

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine