State receives $3.8 million for charter schools
Grasmick, Ehrlich laud effort to expand alternatives to public education; Officials hope federal grant money will fund up to 30 charter programs by 2006-2007
By Stephen Manning
The Associated Press

June 22, 2004, 2:56 PM EDT

ARNOLD -- Maryland received $3.8 million today from the federal government to fund charter schools, money state officials hope will help increase alternatives to the public schools.

Charter schools will be eligible to compete for up to $200,000 over three years under the plan, announced by State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick as she and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. received the payment from federal officials today.

The state hopes the money will help fund as many as 30 new charter schools by the 2006-2007 school year. It is the first installment of $13 million in federal funding the state expects to receive over the next three years.

Grasmick said the principles of charter schools, billed by proponents as alternatives to poorly performing public schools, serve as a model of what educators want to see in all schools.

"Choice, freedom, accountability and community involvement are what we really want for our public schools," she said.

The state's General Assembly passed legislation in 2003 enabling county school boards to approve applications for charter schools. Charter schools are publicly funded but have more freedom to set curricula and policies than their school system counterparts.

The federal No Child Left Behind law encourages states to develop charter school programs as a way to give parents more freedom to choose where their children go to school.

"The charter school movement is transforming America's understanding about what public education is all about," said Eugene Hickok, deputy secretary for education.

Maryland currently has only one charter school -- Monocacy Valley Montessori in Frederick County. Monocacy Valley struggled after it opened in September 2002, beset by student defections, problems with the school's building and internal disputes.

But Grasmick said the school showed significant improvement in the recently released Maryland School Assessment test scores, especially on the third- and fifth-grade math tests.

There are about 50 groups statewide that are developing plans for charter schools, according to Joni Gardner, president of the Maryland Charter School Network.

However, some school districts have been slow to implement policies for charter schools following the approval of the state law, Gardner said.

The City Neighbors charter school in northeast Baltimore presented an application to the city's school board in March, according to founder Bobbi MacDonald. The group already had a building and $700,000 in funding for about 100 students, she said.

But the board said no new applications would be approved until 2005 and after that a cap would be set on the number of charter school applications that would be approved, Gardner said.

That frustrates advocates, especially in light of Baltimore's recent educational funding crisis.

"Baltimore city schools need this the most," Gardner said.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press