Panel votes to halt growth of charter school program

CARSON CITY -- Nevada residents seeking to experiment with alternative public education using charter schools will have to rethink their plans after a state panel voted unanimously Friday to put a temporary freeze on any expansion of the program.

The vote by the state Board of Education to enact the moratorium on the approval of new charter schools came after three hours of debate, public testimony and discussion.

And it came despite a call by lawmakers as well as a bipartisan group studying how to help charter schools succeed in Nevada to hold off on imposing any type of moratorium.

The idea for a freeze on new charter schools was put forward by board member Cindy Reid of Henderson and others out of a concern that the state Education Department is being overwhelmed by applications to create the schools, which offer alternatives to traditional public schools.

The unanimous vote by the eight members of the 10-member board present for the decision will get the attention of lawmakers and others, said member John Gwaltney, who called the vote a tough one.

"Whether it is positive attention or negative attention is the question," he said.

The state Department of Education expects an influx of applications because the Clark County School District decided in October to end sponsorship of new charter schools because of the time and expense. School districts can but do not have to sponsor charter schools. The Education Department does not have such flexibility.

Reid said her intent is to allow time to consider how to provide adequate staff and support to both review and monitor the growing number of charter schools. The workload shift expected to hit the Education Department as a result of the Clark County School District decision was unanticipated and is unmanageable, she said.

Officials cannot handle the workload from as many as 11 new charter school applications submitted for possible startup in the 2008-2009 school year, Reid said.

"I really like charter schools," she said. "I think they play a valuable role in our state. But if we don't take a pause now, we will hurt the program more by not running it responsibly and efficiently."

Reid said any moratorium will be maintained only until adequate staffing and support become available.

Board President Cliff Ferry echoed Reid's support of the schools, which receive state tax support to operate.

"We are not against charter schools," he said. "What we do want is good charter schools."

But Ferry also clarified at the meeting that any moratorium would not affect schools now in the pipeline for approval.

A handful of speakers, testifying from both the capital and Las Vegas, said the state needs more education choices and more charter schools, not more restrictions.

Ray Bacon, representing the Nevada Manufacturers Association, said the move to implement a moratorium was suspect. Education officials knew that a limitation on the number of charter schools allowed under state law was going away, but they did not bring any concerns to the 2007 Legislature, he said.

But Craig Stevens, representing the Nevada State Education Association, supported the moratorium, saying the action was needed until more resources are made available to oversee the charter school program.

There are 23 charter schools operating in Nevada. Five are sponsored by the state Education Department with two more expected to open next fall. Others are sponsored by school districts.

The charter school law has changed to allow state universities and colleges to sponsor charter schools, although that has not yet occurred.

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, chairman of the Human Resources and Education Committee, said the agency has a duty under Nevada law to review all applications submitted to it by charter school proponents and provide written reasons for any denials.

In a letter sent to the board Wednesday he said, in part: "The Legislature intends that quality charter schools are approved and operating in this state and does not intend that all applications are summarily denied."

In a separate letter sent Monday, Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee, also noted the legal requirement for the department to process charter school applications.

Questions surrounding the sponsorship issues for charter schools will be made a subject for discussion at a future meeting of the Legislative Committee on Education, she said. The panel tackles education issues between legislative sessions.

Keith Rheault, superintendent of public instruction, said Clark County school officials cited the cost and time of overseeing the charter schools it has sponsored as a reason for opting not to support any more applications.

But the Clark County district has far more resources to devote to the program than the state Education Department, he said.

With the districts opting out of sponsorship, the Education Department cannot absorb the full workload, Rheault said.

A majority of the members of a Nevada group looking at ways to improve the implementation of Nevada's charter school laws asked the board in a letter sent Wednesday to delay any action on a moratorium.

The Nevada State Charter School Leadership Team, made up of state education officials, charter school operators, lawmakers and others, said the work of the group should be done by January 2009.

Drew Lesofski, the group's team leader, said in the letter that increased staffing for the agency to oversee charter schools is one issue being examined in its review.