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School Board, Charters to Work on Reforms

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By Susie Gran SGRAN@ABQTRIB.COM / 823-3682

Their relationship has been contentious for years, but this week the Albuquerque school board and charter schools began setting aside differences to create a united front at the state Legislature.

Together they'll push for a new way to do business, if the Albuquerque Board of Education votes to back the legislative platform of the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools.

"I do think there's a lot of common ground here," said Lisa Grover, executive director of the coalition, after meeting with a school board committee Monday.

The coalition is backing Gov. Bill Richardson's proposal to create a charter-school commission that would have authority over charter schools. Local school boards have that authority now.

Grover said the bill is still being drafted, so details were not available to share with the board. She was hoping to have the draft bill by Wednesday's board meeting.

As proposed, the commission would approve charters and monitor their work with the help of staff from the Public Education Department. The most successful charter school systems in other states have similar commissions, Grover said.

The coalition is calling for a study of longterm funding solutions to be conducted by the state Department of Finance and Administration.

The coalition and members of the Albuquerque board agreed the bill being drafted to create the commission should also address the financial and capital needs of charter schools, not just the governance issue.

"We cannot divorce the two -- governance and finance," Grover said.

Miguel Acosta, school board vice president, said he could not support a bill that failed to define the fiscal and capital responsibilities of the proposed commission. "That would not be something I could recommend to the board to support," Acosta said.

The school district has projected charter schools will drain $115 million from district building funds in coming years to bring campuses up to safety and educational standards.

Board member Mary Lee Martin said she needed to see a draft bill before committing to support it.

She questioned if the school board and charter schools would have a relationship under a commission system.

"Do we still work together?" she asked. "I don't mind working together."

Source: Albuquerque Journal

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