Charter School Proposal To Get Public Hearing Da Vinci Charter Academy One Of Two Projected Schools

Keeping kids from failing is one of the driving motivations behind two charter school proposals in Bonner County.

The proposal with the most momentum is for the Da Vinci Charter Academy, which will be the subject of a public hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Backers of the academy propose a 120-student school for the ninth and 10th grades with at least five full-time teachers and a $915,000 budget. Eventually, the 11th and 12th grades would be added.

Organizers believe small classes and a holistic teaching philosophy would prevent students from falling behind and eventually dropping out.

Originally, the founders had hoped to open the school by the end of January. Now, they’re aiming for September.

John Sarchio said he and other board members have a lot to do before the school can open.

First, they need to raise money for operations because the state’s perpupil reimbursement isn’t enough to run the school and the school can’t collect property taxes.

“We’re probably off by about $200,000,” he said. “We’re going to have to raise a lot of money.”

If approved, the academy also has the onerous tasks of finding a place to hold classes, fine-tuning the curriculum and hiring qualified teachers.

But none of that can begin until the Lake Pend Oreille School District board approves the charter plan. The public hearing is the first opportunity for an exchange of questions and comments among the school’s founders, the public and the school district board.

The earliest the school district board could act on the charter school would be the following week at its regular business meeting.

“The objective now is not to judge it at this point,” said Superintendent Roy Rummler. “After (the board listens) to the explanations, they can go back and deliberate.”

While the Da Vinci Charter Academy inches toward its goal of approval, another charter school in Bonner County is in the formative stage.

The Sandpoint Charter School shares many of the same philosophies as Da Vinci but would be designed for middle school students.

“The basic idea is to develop a middle school that allows middle schoolers to be more active and participatory in their learning processes, keeping it very active instead of asking them to sit in their seats all day,” said Mary Quinn, a parent who is involved in the planning.

“We’re looking at a more nurturing, caring atmosphere, simply because of the smaller number,” she continued. “It’s not that the (Sandpoint) middle school is doing anything wrong.”

Backers of the Sandpoint Charter School have yet to submit a petition to the district school board.

The district has added an extra step in its approval process for charter schools since the first one was proposed last year. That proposal was turned down by the school board.

Now, the charter school plan goes to a review team that ensures the plan meets all of the state’s requirements before it goes to the school board. The district also sends a copy of the proposal to an attorney for review and to the state Department of Education for its feedback.

“It’s not productive for anybody to have something that’s not going to work,” Rummler said. “If we’re going to have charter schools, we need to help them be successful.”

If approved, the school would be the ninth charter school in the state since the charter school legislation passed in 1998. In North Idaho, Coeur d’Alene and Moscow have charter schools.

This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Meeting

A public hearing on the Da Vinci Charter Academy is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council chambers, 1123 Lake.