Meanwhile, all eyes are on the newly formed State Charter School Board as they decide what requirements, if any, charter school administrators should meet.

Board president Brian Allen said they will start with a philosophical discussion.

"Do we as a State Charter School Board feel confident enough in our (charter) governing boards that we can trust their judgment on who they hire as a director?" said Allen. "Secondly, do we as a board want to craft regulations to the extent that we outline how the governing boards of these schools operate and what kind of decisions they make?"

He said then, based on what they decide, the board will put that into rule and present it to the state school board for approval — something he hopes to do by the end of January.

Allen said he couldn't speak for his board but doesn't think there is any magic about a particular degree or a particular certification for charter school leaders.

"The appeal is leaders of charter schools with no (traditional certification) gets them out of that normal mode of thinking, and from that respect it breathes some new perspective into the system," Allen said. "If we end up imposing the same regulations as traditional schools then we end up running two parallel systems."

APA does have the option to move its charter to the state charter board. However, with the load facing the new charter board, that won't happen within the next month.

Sharette, who has a nursing degree from Brigham Young University, isn't the only charter director lacking an administrative certificate. But Carol Lear, state coordinator for school law and legislation, said to her knowledge Sharette is the only director who is not working toward that certification.

Lear said meeting the requirements doesn't necessarily mean expensive college classes. They can be met through online classes, district inservice programs and other things that are practically free — as the state school board has statutory authority to license people.

And a provision from the legislative session two years ago made to make it possible for individuals with nontraditional training to get those licenses.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com