3 of 18 schools to get charter OK

The state Charter School Board will have its hands full this summer narrowing down 18 charter school applications to only three that will have the green light to begin operation in the 2007-08 school year.

Earlier this spring state lawmakers put a cap of five charter school approvals for the fall 2007 school year while the state conducts a study to look at charter funding formulas and other current charter procedures along with an audit to look at the financial viability and business plans of charters.

But two schools have already been approved for that year, so three slots remain.

State charter director John Broberg said in past years the board has approved around 65 percent of charter applications, so narrowing 18 down to three could be tough.

The board voted Thursday to hold each school to the same rubric in the interest of fairness.

"It is an instrument we can use in many ways, but in all fairness we have to look at all of these charters and score them on something that is constant to all of them," Broberg said.

Board leaders heard six application presentations this week and will hear 12 others over the next two months. They will rate each school on a 0-9 scale in areas like innovation, confidence in the school, financial plan, parental involvement and the urgency and need for the school.

Then the board will award approvals to the top-scoring schools in August.

The cap was part of an education funding bill passed during the 2006 legislative session, limiting approvals to five charters and a combined maximum limit of 5,000 new charter students.

The bill also funds the $150,000 six-month study that will also examine what should be done in the future to accommodate the booming number of charter schools.

Charter schools are free public schools that usually have a specific emphasis and are often run by parents.

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