Charter schools wary of law

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed a bill this week that could cause some charter schools to lose federal funding if they choose to make the allowances the bill permits.

The charter school enrollment bill allows a charter school with more applicants than enrollment capacity to give preference to students who live closer to the school.

Under the new law, aside from students whose parents are founding members, schools may give preference to students who reside within the school district in which the school is located, the city in which the school is located or a two-mile radius from the school.

But schools that choose to give those preferences will be out of line with the federal Office of Charter Schools and will lose federal funds.

"We understand from the federal charter school office, if it is not a pure lottery system where all children have equal access to a charter school, then they will not get federal funds," said Carol Lear, state coordinator for school law and legislation.

Individual charter schools can choose to forgo that funding by giving preferences. But state charter school director John Broberg said that might not be the wisest decision. The federal support can be a big chunk of change.

Federal start-up money for charter schools is about $150,000 a year for three years. Plus schools receive additional federal money through facility grants — $427 a student.

The idea behind the bill is to make sure students in an area where a charter school is built — and driven by community interest — wouldn't get ousted by those outside the area. But given the consequences, Broberg isn't sure there will be too many schools giving preferences.

"Why would you in Utah, a state with so little funding, forgo that? . . . If you want a quality education and this money is available, why wouldn't you take it," said Broberg. "The feds are very concerned about this bill, but most schools understand that if they want federal money they have to have open enrollment — no preferences — and 97 percent of them don't have a problem with that."

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