• Paul Farrow has always had a passion for education and has been a long-time ally of students and parents.
• Farrow has committed to a five-year charter agreement to secure the success and growth of Lake Country Classical Academy. 
• This is the first occurrence where Farrow will exercise his power to authorize a charter school since he was granted that authority eight years ago. As a result, he is permitted to authorize charter schools in Waukesha County, WI. 
• The county will be moving forward to establish the charter contract terms with Lake Country Classical Academy.

County Executive Paul Farrow just signed a letter of intent to re-authorize the Lake Country Classical Academy (LCCA), an independent charter school in Oconomowoc.

Farrow commented about the school, “They have charter authorization from one of the Indian Tribes in the state. There are technically 13 different entities that can charter independent charter schools. I was named one of the charter authorizers back in the 2015 state budget.”

This is the first occurrence where Farrow will exercise his power to authorize a charter school since he was granted that authority eight years ago. As a result, he is permitted to authorize charter schools in Waukesha County, WI. 

In October of 2022, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Authorizing Board notified the LLCA, stating they would not renew their charter after the 2022-2023 school year. As a result, the Lake Country Classical Academy contacted the Office of Educational Opportunities (OEO) at the UW System, another permitted authorizer created in 2015. The OEO has begun reviewing the reauthorization while working alongside Farrow. 

Recently, the OEO was not entirely willing to move forward with the reauthorization. Still, Farrow wanted to ensure the school would continue as it was starting a second year. The school has 500 children and a waiting list of 250; Farrow believes the LLCA was doing a good job. 

The deadline was Feb. 1, and the Dept. of Education requires a letter of intent. The letter explains who would reauthorize the charter school. “I am happy to provide LLCA’s students and parents the peace of mind that their school’s doors will remain open in the coming academic year and beyond. LCCA has quickly become an important part of the educational landscape of Waukesha County. I look forward to seeing their successes continue well into the future,” Farrow stated. 

Signing the letter is the beginning of the future for LCCA and its students and is the first step to reauthorizing the charter to continue operating during the 2023-2024 school year. After that, the county will be moving forward to establish the charter contract terms with Lake Country Classical Academy. The following steps are working towards meeting the necessary and appropriate state statutory requirements before the beginning of the new school year. 

Farrow has always had a passion for education and has been a long-time ally of students and parents. Farrow commented about his focus on academics, “I look back and see what we did during 2020 during COVID, working with the public schools to make sure they stayed open, so the kids had in-person education. I’ve always looked at how do you empower parents to make sure they are engaged with the education of their kids.”

Farrow saw an opportunity to help advance academics in Waukesha County, and he took it. This was a golden opportunity, and responsibility, for him to ensure these parents could keep their children enrolled at LCCA. Farrow has committed to a five-year charter agreement to secure the success and growth of Lake Country Classical Academy. 

Kristina Vourax, President of the Lake Country Classical Academy Board, commented on the partnership, “We will be forever grateful that he has committed to a five-year charter agreement to secure the success of LCCA for years to come. Our school’s success is evidenced by our recent 95% retention rate for the 2023-2024 school year. We will continue to accept enrollment applications for grades K-11 through Jan. 31 for the Feb. 1 lottery for the upcoming school year.” 

“The LCCA community is thrilled to partner with Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow,’ said Kristina Vourax, Lake Country Classical Academy board president. “We will be forever grateful that he has committed to a five-year charter agreement to secure the success of LCCA for years to come. Our school’s success is evidenced by our recent 95% retention rate for the 2023-2024 school year. We will continue to accept enrollment applications for grades K-11 through Jan. 31 for the Feb. 1 lottery for the upcoming school year.”

To learn more about Lake Country Classical Academy, visit www.lakecountryclassical.org.