Baltimore County’s newest language-immersion charter school, approved to teach students in Mandarin and French, is already in jeopardy. District officials say the operator blew a key deadline to finish required paperwork and lock in a building, and now the school’s authorization, its opening-year lottery, and millions in federal startup money are all hanging in the balance.
According to The Banner, Baltimore County Public Schools told the operator of Bilingual Global Citizens Public Charter School that the group “failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the charter agreement” and did not have a fully executed facilities agreement in place by the deadline spelled out in its contract. The district has routed the dispute to its law office, and roughly $2 million in federal grant funding tied to the school is on hold while the matter gets sorted out, a situation that could change how the county uses its FY2026 budget.
Approval Came With Strings Attached
BCPS records show the school board signed off on the charter last year, but with a clear condition: final contracting depended on the operator securing a building that meets district standards, according to the school’s application report. BCPS BoardDocs and the district’s FY2026 budget document list staff and allocations tied to the new charter, including 19 positions. Those lines, the district notes, could be repurposed if the school never opens, according to Baltimore County Public Schools budget documents.
Founder and Families Push Back
Founder Dr. Bertrand Tchoumi is not exactly taking the news quietly. He has publicly argued that he put serious money on the line, paying $100,000 to secure a proposed facility for 60 days, and warned that “that trust is going to fade” if the district does not follow through, The Banner reports.
The same reporting notes that more than 100 families have already applied to the school, and another roughly 60 are still in the application process. Those parents, many hoping for an early language-immersion option, would now likely have to wait another year if the school’s launch gets pushed back.
Site, Stakes and What Comes Next
One building the operator had been eyeing, at 7941 Corporate Drive in the Nottingham/White Marsh area, once housed Prometric’s global operations hub, a roughly 60,000-square-foot facility, according to Prometric materials and property records. Prometric press materials confirm the address.
For now, county officials say the law office is reviewing the case, and board members will decide what happens next. Organizers and the Maryland Alliance say they are still committed to opening the school, but admit the timeline now hinges on how quickly the legal and facilities questions get resolved.
