Conversion Charter Ambiguities
Initiative 1240's rules for conversion charters has some clarity, some flexibility, and some elements that make no sense at all. To follow along you'll want quick access to the text of the initiative.
A few things are clear:
- The District retains ownership of the building - the charter school can't sell it, they are only leasing it.
- Per Section 223(5) The District retains the "major repairs and safety upgrades that may be required for the continued use of the facility as a public school" but the charter is responsible for "routine maintenance of the facility including, but not limited to, cleaning, painting, gardening, and landscaping."
- Conversion charters count towards the maximum of 40 charter schools authorized by the initiative. Section 101(1)n(i) says that the law will "Allow a maximum of up to forty public charter schools to be established". While there is a clear distinction made between conversion charter schools and new charter schools in Section 201(8) and 201(9), Section 201(5) clearly defines "Charter school" or "public charter school" to mean both new charter schools and conversion charter schools and Section 215(1) is where we find the cap of forty schools: "(1) A maximum of forty public charter schools may be established under this chapter, over a five-year period."
- While over-subscribed charter schools must use a lottery to determine who gets in, they must enroll siblings of current students first, before the lottery per Section 205(4). JSIS, I'm looking at you.
Some things are flexible:
- While Section 222(6) says that districts must allocate levy moneys to a conversion charter school, there's