One of Arizona’s largest charter school networks has abandoned a controversial land deal with the city of Scottsdale.
On Thursday, Great Hearts Academies announcedthat it has found another location for its new athletic facilities. The charter school had proposed using a plot of public land next to the DC Ranch community.
Under the original plan, the site would have also served as a public park. But the school faced pushback after locals raised a handful of concerns, saying the project would disrupt the neighborhood and would not be open to the public during sports activities.
Two Scottsdale City Council members also said they would not vote for the park unless Great Hearts changed its policy for transgender students, which LGBTQ groups call discriminatory.
Now the charter school has found a new site next to Scottsdale Preparatory Academy, which will house athletics facilities and the new campus for a K-5 school.