Charters face challenges even as fed money flows

by Sean R. Sedam
Staff Writer

June 25, 2004

Charter school proponents are betting that a federal grant to establish 30 new charter schools over the next three years will bring the first wave of independent public schools to Maryland.

But it could be accompanied by a hard lesson in education economics.

Opening charter schools in Maryland mixes a growing demand from the public with a limited supply of public money and local school boards, often reluctant middlemen who are the key hurdle organizers have to clear to win a charter.

At Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold on Tuesday, federal education officials presented Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) with a $3.8 million check, the first installment of more than $13 million.

The money is part of a $200 million pot for charter schools that Maryland became eligible for after passing a charter schools law in 2003.

"I think it demonstrates that the feds are looking to be supportive of Maryland," said Joni Gardner, president of the Maryland Charter School Network, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization promoting charter schools.

There are about 50 groups working to establish charter schools in about half of the state's districts, Gardner said.

Whether local school boards are as supportive is a big question, she said.

Maryland law makes school boards from each of the state's 24 districts the sole authority on charter schools, which parents, teachers and community groups operate using public money.

Today, one year after the state law took effect, the state has only one charter school -- Monocacy Valley Montessori in Frederick city.

"With the fact that we haven't seen any charter groups open this past year, we tend to believe the counties aren't doing what they can do to open charter schools," said Anna Marcucio, vice president of external affairs for the Center for Education Reform, an education advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

In February, the Center for Education Reform ranked Maryland's law the seventh weakest of the 41 around the nation.

The law ranked so low because it does not specifically address issues such as the number of students allowed in a school or admissions requirements, Marcucio said.

That lack of detail has the Baltimore City Council sitting down with the city's school board on Monday. They will discuss the board's decision to prohibit any charter schools from opening before fall 2005 and limit the number of new charter schools to no more than three a year.

The ambiguity of the state law makes it difficult for the schools to operate, even after they are open, said Leslie Mansfield, president of the group that founded the Monocacy Valley school, which has an enrollment of 195 and a waiting list of more than 90.

"The gray areas are so large right now ..." she said. "It feels like everybody's stepping on each other's toes. ... Currently, we rely on goodwill, not on definitive legislation."

Unless something is done, charter schools, which rely on parent volunteers and the community for financial as well as moral support, will find it hard to sustain themselves, Mansfield said.

For groups that are already on their way to establishing charter schools, the grant money will help, she said.

But, Mansfield cautioned, "It's not going to bring people out of the woodwork."

The state needs to look at giving other entities the power to grant school charters and to give schools more autonomy, Marcucio said.

"In order for charter schools to thrive in Maryland you need to take the [charter] authority out of the districts' hands and give it to a university, a mayor or an independent group," she said.

Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-Dist. 29) of Great Mills, who sponsored the charter schools bill that passed last year after being shot down three previous years, said it took a "fragile coalition" to get the bill to the governor's desk.

There was a time when public universities in Maryland would have been interested in having the authority to grant school charters, Dyson said.

"But we would have to so tie their hands that we'd have to say 'University X, if you wanted this money, it is earmarked solely for this purpose and then, still, it isn't going to be enough,'" he said.

That leaves groups looking to open charter schools with only the local school boards to deal with.

Some charter organizers have given up after meeting resistance from local officials, Marcucio said.

"It took a while but I learned that there's a serious brick wall around MCPS and I doubt that charter school supporters stand a chance of breaking through, regardless of the federal money," Joseph A. Hawkins said in an e-mail.

Hawkins, who led an unsuccessful effort to establish the Jaime Escalante charter school in Montgomery County, said he has abandoned the effort.

Board member Patricia B. O'Neill (Dist. 3) of Bethesda, who voted against the Escalante group's applications, said she is open to charter schools. But she said she firmly believes that since charter schools receive their budgets from each district, the authority to grant a charter should lie with each district's school board.

"I think we have the knowledge base of what is education, what are the needs, where are the resources and what are the laws in Montgomery County," she said.

With the new federal dollars flowing in, charter school supporters said school boards will be increasing under the microscope.

"There's an awful lot of interest," Gardner said. "How friendly the boards are remains to be seen.