Students blocked from entering Utopian Charter School (Clayton: sublease, lease)

[billl]

First, I have no skin in this as I'm not a resident of Clayton County and my child doesn't go to Utopian.

But this story is really odd. I'm not sure if this is bad reporting (the article is certainly written very badly) or something more nefarious. Why would a fire marshall prevent occupation of a building because of a dispute over a business license? Since when does a fire marshall care about a tax matter? Did county officials put him up to it? I can see a fire marshall keeping a building closed if there was no valid certificate of occupancy, but is that tied to a business license?

There is something to this story that I'm just not getting:

First day of school showdown: Utopian vs Clayton | www.ajc.com

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by billl

I can see a fire marshall keeping a building closed if there was no valid certificate of occupancy, but is that tied to a business license?

There is something to this story that I'm just not getting:

First day of school showdown: Utopian vs Clayton | www.ajc.com

I'll have to look but some schools have the CoO plus a business license so this will probably boil down to the school not having a Certificate of Occupancy so the fire marshal won't let the students into the building.

At least, I hope, that is the only issue.

[billl]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

I'll have to look but some schools have the CoO plus a business license so this will probably boil down to the school not having a Certificate of Occupancy so the fire marshal won't let the students into the building.

At least, I hope, that is the only issue.

That I can understand. But the AJC article made it sound like the fire marshall was preventing access strictly because of the lack of a business license. Which just seems wrong.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by billl

That I can understand. But the AJC article made it sound like the fire marshall was preventing access strictly because of the lack of a business license. Which just seems wrong.

A commercial certificate of occupancy is a license. If the building is up to code then it probably just boils down to paperwork and the government not having their money (or their way). The fire marshal would be the appropriate agency to enforce that type of compliance.... but the way the article is written does make it seem like the Clayton County government is actively trying to impede the operation of the charter school.

[Tryska]

This is pretty standard. if you don't have your CoO, Fire marshall is the perfectly reasonable person to block access. Fire marshalls also condemn properties.

BTW - I'm sick to death of business starting up and then complaining when they don't follow the rules, that it's someone else's fault.

[billl]

Originally Posted by Tryska

This is pretty standard. if you don't have your CoO, Fire marshall is the perfectly reasonable person to block access. Fire marshalls also condemn properties.

The article made it sound like it was the business license that was the issue. A CoO I understand.

[flyonpa]

If they were smart, they would have said, OK we can't go inside. We will do class in the parking lot, the grass. But then the health dept would be on them for not having bathroom, running water....

[arc-lang]

Without a business license there could be issues with insurance and safety codes the school could basically face lawsuits if any kind of accident happened inside the school. Usually a business license requires you to be bonded and insured through the state. You also have to meet certain codes to be bonded through the state. I am not saying that the school does not meet these requirements, but with no license it's one of those things where there is no issuing authority to give final approval.

Ultimately the Fire Marshall would be called in to protect the interests of the county and state, as well as the kids. Looks like somebody dropped the ball.

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by billl

The article made it sound like it was the business license that was the issue. A CoO I understand.

No business license, no CoO. The CoO is the last thing you get before you are cleared to open. If that isn't given (by the Fire Marshall) you aren't in business.

I think the real story, is why isn't this school's house in order before the First Day? That's ultimately the issue here, no?

[PKCorey]

Charter school students turned away on first day | www.wsbtv.com

The city refused to sign off on those licenses because there’s an issue with the building lease.

School officials say they have a five-year lease, but the city says that lease may not be valid because the organization that subleased it to them may not be authorized to do so.