Districts start their own charter schools for more federal funding and flexibility | OregonLive.com

Districts start their own charter schools for more federal funding and flexibility | OregonLive.com:

Districts start their own charter schools for more federal funding and flexibility

Published: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 4:24 PM Updated: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 4:27 PM

By Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

View full sizeJamie Francis/The OregonianTeacher Dan Semrad explains a physics lesson to Damon Rutherford at the Clackamas Academy of Industrial Sciences, which is located in Oregon City High School. The district-initiated charter school took advantage of about half a million dollars in federal funding to open the school in 2010.

SANDY – When a fledgling charter school took over the Cottrell Elementary building this fall, district administrators didn't worry about losing per-pupil state funding, and there were no protests decrying the move as a threat to public education.

That's because the Oregon Trail School District created the charter school.

Amid increasing budget constraints and continued pressure to reform public education, some savvy educators are taking advantage of federal charter school grants of up to $500,000 to create a hybrid: the district-initiated charter school.

In Oregon, taxpayers finance charter schools, which are typically run by organizations independent from school districts. But two Clackamas County