Front Page  news  state

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Charter Schools Seek Growth in N.M.

By Andrea Schoellkopf
Journal Staff Writer
    The charter school movement is poised to expand in New Mexico with a push to replicate successful programs, the head of the New Mexico Coalition of Charter Schools said.
    "One of the real issues our opponents have with charter schools is we are starting to demonstrate we can do just as well, if not better, with less money," executive director Lisa Grover said Friday at the Coalition's annual statewide conference at Sandia Resort and Casino.
    Grover wants to challenge the 1999 law limiting the number of charters to 75 start-ups in a five-year period. The state now has 65, averaging almost 10 a year since 2000.
    "It's one of the most insidious caps," she said.
    Also, charters are not allowed to expand beyond a maximum enrollment set at their initial application.
    "If a school is proving itself," Grover said, "why should that school have to wait until renewal time to open up its classrooms to more kids?"
    There are 3,500 students on waiting lists for these schools, she said, indicating "we need to grow."
    Recent changes in charter school laws will allow the schools— frequently located in storefronts, portable buildings or other unconventional locations— to use local tax dollars for construction.
    Starting this year, charters can tap into school district property tax revenues to support their building needs, but the school must be listed on the election ballot with needs spelled out in a district master plan before it can qualify, said attorney Patricia Matthews.
    Charters— which don't yet have to meet the same building standards as traditional schools— will be eligible to receive state capital outlay money in the next few years as part of a phase-in starting with the oldest charters, Matthews said. However, the school must be in a public— not privately-owned— building.
    State law requires that by 2010, schools applying for a new charter or a renewal must be in a public facility or one that meets school adequacy standards set by the state.
    Currently, charters need only meet occupancy standards, such as fire and city codes.