The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school board may be shifting its stance on a charter school plan.
District leaders met with charter school organizers for more than three hours last week. Superintendent Alex Carter said four major concerns remain: financial impacts to the district, community perception of an elite school for only a few, how the charter school would be governed, and duplication of services.
"We all want to give our kids a quality education," Carter said.
At the board meeting Tuesday evening, Carter said the district attorney would prepare three resolutions for the board to consider at their Feb. 25 meeting. Those resolutions are denying the charter school application, approving the application or approving the application with stipulations.
In December, school board members voted unanimously to deny the application for the proposed Children's Kiva Montessori Charter School. At that meeting, board member Pete Montano indicated that the charter school would further reduce a thin district budget. On Tuesday, however, Montano indicated he might be shifting his position.
"I am part of a fundraising group for the charter school," Montano said. "I believe there's a reasonable chance the issues will be resolved."
Children's Kiva Montesorri Charter School organizers plan to open next fall and offer instruction for grades K-6, said Anna Cole, a Kiva board member spearheading the charter effort.
Cole said its important to recognize that a majority of stakeholders - all of the charter founding committee members and all the Re-1 school board members - are committed to cultivating opportunities for students.
"It is a massive effort from both parties, and we are identifying solutions that will work for everyone," she said.
After last year's application denial, charter school officials hired their own attorney, Bill Bethke of Denver. He was also pleased that school district leaders appeared open to the charter school idea.
"We had a very productive meeting," he said. "We made a lot of progress."
Montessori instruction uses a more hands-on collaborative approach to education that focuses on academics, combined with community participation, self-reliance, individual choice, and mixed-grades settings where older students assist younger students. Charters must comply with academic and testing standards of the Colorado Department of Education.
"Charter schools have more flexibility in their curriculum than traditional schools, and it gives parents a choice," said Cole. "It is where Colorado is heading."
Under Cole's leadership, the charter school has been awarded a $560,000 grant for start-up costs by the Colorado Charter School Program, but it is contingent on being authorized to operate.
If the school board rejects the application for a second time, Cole said charter school organizers would appeal to the state board of education. She's hopeful local officials, instead, approve the measure in order to move forward with contract negotiations.
