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STATE HOUSE

Backers advocate for charter schools

Prospective operators of charter schools tell lawmakers about their plans

By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- The Blue Hill Harbor School in Hancock County educates 14 students who complete high school by following a curriculum based on their personal interests.

At The Community School in Camden, eight students -- some of whom previously dropped out -- live on campus and follow individualized curriculums that allow them to intern at local businesses. The school's 40 other students are teenage mothers who earn their diplomas after completing a home-based high school program.

And in Cornville, the members of a municipal committee charged with recommending uses for the town's recently closed school building see an opportunity to revive their community school.

What do they have in common?

They're all prospective operators of charter schools, and they spent much of Monday at the State House telling lawmakers and others about their plans -- which depend on the Legislature passing a bill allowing the independent public schools to operate.

Maine is one of 10 states that don't allow charter schools. But charter school supporters are more optimistic than ever that will change.

The Maine Association for Charter Schools expects a Republican-led Legislature will be more open to the autonomous schools than past Democratically controlled legislatures that have rejected such proposals.

Two Republican senators -- Garrett Mason, of Lisbon Falls; and Roger Katz, of Augusta -- have proposed bills to allow charter schools, and Gov. Paul LePage's administration will lend its support to those efforts, said Stephen Bowen, the governor's senior policy adviser on education.

"The governor's a strong supporter of charter schools, and we're looking forward to the debate and getting charter school legislation enacted," he said.

The Community School currently strings together a budget from private donations and tuition payments from eight sending districts. A charter school law would allow the school a steadier stream of funding, said Joseph Hufnagel, who directs the school's residential program.

Mike Muir says a charter school law would allow his virtual high school program -- which currently works with a dozen Auburn students -- to work with more districts.

And that law would allow the school in Cornville to reopen after it was shut down last year by School Administrative District 54.

"We've got the building there, and a lot of parents and students ready to go back there," said Justin Belanger, a member of the town committee recommending uses for the building.

The charter school law being pushed by the Maine Association for Charter Schools sets up a system of schools that would receive public funding for each student they enroll, along with federal seed money directed at charter schools.

The schools would have more flexibility than traditional public schools to, for example, host classes year-round and dismiss teachers if they're not meeting performance targets.

In addition, the schools would have to meet specifically negotiated targets for student performance or risk being shut down by their authorizers -- who would be local school boards, public or private colleges with an education program, or a special statewide charter school commission.

Since they'd draw funding from home school districts for each student they enroll, charter schools would pose a challenge to school districts in their first few years, said John D'Anieri, who's proposing a set of schools where students would work on projects with businesses and nonprofit organizations.

"The question that we should be asking is, what is the best possible use of the resources available for public education?" said D'Anieri. "Charter legislation creates a structure to allocate spending in ways that encourage innovation and accountability at a local level."

But there are a number of ways educators can currently innovate that don’t involve introducing a new system of schools that will draw from a limited resource base, said Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland, the assistant Senate minority leader.

“It’s surprising to me that we’re having this discussion when I think most people in the education community would probably agree that we have more infrastructure and other costs than we can even afford now,” he said.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435
mstone@centralmaine.com