State creation of charters within districts upheld

DENVER • The Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld a law that allows the state to create charter schools within local school district boundaries.

Boulder Valley School District challenged the 2004 law partly because it could remove local control over schools and siphon state money away from the district.

In a ruling handed down Thursday, a three-judge panel ruled the law is constitutional because it doesn't require a local district to establish charter schools and gives districts the option to seek exclusive authority for charter schools within its boundaries.

Boulder schools spokesman Briggs Gamblin says the school board won't decide whether to appeal until after its attorney reviews the ruling.

The state department of education's Charter School Institute serves 5,700 students through 16 schools across the state.

Six of those schools are in Colorado Springs School District 11, and another one is expected to open in the fall.

The D-11 school board has exclusive chartering authority, which means it can charter schools or give them permission to seek a charter from the state Charter School Institute.

It has passed its authority to the state because the reimbursement from the state does not cover the cost of overseeing the schools.

The state chartered schools in D-11 are: Colorado Springs Charter Academy; Colorado Springs Early Colleges; two campuses of Cesar Chavez Academy (one K-2 and one K-8); 21st Century Charter School; and The Vanguard School. The Thomas MacLaren School is slated to open in the fall.

There are no state-chartered schools in other Pikes Peak area districts.

-

Sue McMillin of The Gazette contributed to this report