A new charter school bill soon to be up for debate in the South Carolina Senate is infuriating some of the people it's supposed to be helping organizers of charter schools across the Palmetto State.
Public charter schools, promoted as an alternative to the traditional public school model, give educators more flexibility in how they teach, some local charter school teachers have said. But the 23 charter schools created in the Palmetto State since a 1996 law went into effect have had little help from the state.
The bill, which has already passed the House, would create a new statewide charter school district and a board to approve new schools and monitor existing ones through Gov. Mark Sanford's office.
Lilian Thomas, the principal of Midland Valley Preparatory School in Graniteville, said she and other charter school principals helped block a version of the bill last year when they pointed out that funding could drop from about $4,000 to about $1,800 per pupil without the money and special education services currently supplied by local school districts.
"There are so many things that need to be handled with the current law. Changing it one more time is not going to make it work," said Ms. Thomas, who added that more charter school principals should have been consulted to help draft the new bill.
Ms. Thomas said she will meet with principals from 10 other charter schools who oppose the bill Wednesday in Columbia. She said about 15 of the state's 23 charter schools oppose the bill because they might feel forced into the new statewide district and are concerned about funding.
"The funding hasn't been laid out. We build our schools off state and local money, but there's no way we can build our schools just on state funding. The statewide district isn't going to solve anything," she said.
Charter schools in South Carolina are still in their infancy and have faced challenges in their first five years. In the past year, Midland Valley Preparatory School has had almost half of its teachers quit, five board members resign, audit problems, growing debt and an ongoing battle with the local school board.
Two other local charter schools have been criticized for not having enough diversity ñ Fox Creek High School in Edgefield County has 96 percent white students, and Lloyd-Kennedy Middle in Aiken County has about 86 percent black students.
Compared to a state like Arizona, which has more than 400 charter schools, South Carolina doesn't have enough established schools to gauge progress, said Mr. Sanford's spokesman , Will Folks.
A charter school, organized by members of the community, is a hybrid ñ it operates independent of the district school board structure by having its own board but still has to answer to the district for services, funding and charter renewal.
This relationship created some of the tension between the Aiken County school board and Midland Valley Preparatory School this year, said John Bradley, the chairman of the Aiken County school board.
"We are in a very awkward position," Dr. Bradley said. "We have a lot of responsibility and very little authority over charter schools, which operate independently. We have very little control over day-to-day operations and problems."
The new bill would streamline the process and alleviate some of the hostility between charter schools and school boards, said David Church, the president of the South Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools.
"There isn't a single one out of the 23 charter schools in the state that can say that they have a harmonious relationship with their local school districts," Dr. Church said. "They are not supported unless they meet a school district's niche needs, and that's not what a charter school is supposed to do.
"It is for any students in grades kindergarten through 12 for parents to have a choice."
He said charter schools operate on 20 percent less money than public schools because they do not get funding for things such as lunches or transportation. For example, at Fox Creek, the first charter school in Edgefield County, parents must take their children to and from school because there is no funding for buses or vans ñ a factor that led to less diversity, Principal John Gratop said.
State Rep. J. Roland Smith, R-Langley, said the new law will be a more efficient way to monitor charter schools.
"Charter schools are not for everyone," Mr. Smith said. "But they are good for those who don't fit into regular public schools and normally have smaller class sizes."
Reach Karen Ethridge at (803) 648-1395, ext. 109 or karen.ethridge@augustachronicle.com.
MIDLAND VALLEY PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Sponsor: Aiken County school board
Board structure: Seven members elected annually by parents and teachers
Opened: Fall 2002
Grades: K-8
Demographics: 59 percent white; 25 percent black; 16 percent other
Total pupils: 204
LLOYD-KENNEDY CHARTER SCHOOL
Sponsor: Aiken County school board
Board structure: Seven members elected annually by parents and teachers
Opened: Fall 2002
Grades: 5-8
Demographics: 86 percent black; 14 percent white
Total pupils: 60
FOX CREEK HIGH SCHOOL
Sponsor: Edgefield County Board of Trustees
Board structure: 13 members elected annually by parents
Opened: Fall 2004
Grades: 9-11 (12th grade included in 2005-06)
Demographics: 96 percent white; 4 percent minorities
Total pupils: 140
Sources: Aiken County School District, Midland Valley Preparatory School, Fox Creek High School, Lloyd-Kennedy Charter School
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