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Nevada charter schools log record growth

The reach of Nevada’s charter schools has stretched to a record 20,000 students, up from the 16,000 students enrolled last school year, according to the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority.

And the substantial increase accounts for just the 21 public charter schools contracted under the state authority, making up a district of their own. Each of Nevada’s 17 traditional county school districts also can sponsor charter schools within their boundaries.

The Clark County School District has oversight of seven charter schools with about 5,300 students, said Dan Tafoya, coordinator of the district’s Office of Charter Schools. The schools operate independently of the district, which oversees the charter contracts and ensures that the schools comply with state standards.

The 21-entity State Charter School District is on track to replace Washoe County School District as Nevada’s second-largest school system within a decade. While Washoe’s enrollment has been flat at about 63,000 students for years, state charter schools have averaged annual enrollment growth of 32 percent since 2008.

“It is not necessarily a harbinger of what we want down the road,” said Authority Director Patrick Gavin to his seven board members Friday. “We’re not looking for growth for the sake of growth, but high-quality growth.”

The state authority is considering applications for eight new charter schools seeking to open for the 2015-16 school year, Gavin said. Those schools — two in Washoe and six in Clark County — likely would add another 3,200 students, he said. State charter schools surpassed Carson City School District as the third-largest Nevada school district in 2010-11 when these privately operated campuses reached 7,545 students.

It would be healthy to see shrinkage in charter school enrollments some years, however, as some operators not doing their job of educating students shut down, Gavin said.

Charter schools don’t charge tuition and receive per-pupil funding from the state. They’re autonomous but must still meet state student performance standards. If not, their charter could be revoked.

Overall, state charter schools improved their standings on the Nevada Department of Education’s school ranking system for 2013-14, according to Joan Jurgensen, the authority’s education program professional. Jurgensen couldn’t provide a comparison of charter school performance to traditional public schools because the state will not release the 2013-14 ranking results until Sept. 12.

The authority has become more stringent in granting charters, which might account for the higher performance ratings of recently approved charter schools, Gavin said. He will be asking state lawmakers for more funding in the 2015 Legislative Session to provide $300,000 in annual incentives to develop “quality charter schools.”

“Even our best schools are not exemplary,” said Gavin, who also plans to seek $24,000 a year for soliciting proven charter school operators to open campuses in Nevada. “If we’re not on somebody’s short list, we should go to them.”

Contact Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @TrevonMilliard.

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