Local lawmakers fear Baltimore County?s first charter school will do little more than divert funding and teachers from the public school system to educate students currently enrolled in private schools.
Imagine Discovery, a 415-seat school that will initially offer kindergarten through fourth grade, will be the county?s first charter school when it opens in August. But more than 60 percent of the 760 students who applied for the Woodlawn school currently attend private schools, and some lawmakers said that defeats the purpose of the charter system.
“It?s just providing a free alternative to private school,” said Councilman Vince Gardina. “Charter schools should be designed to address problems at failing and overcapacity public schools. It should be limited to those students.”
School administrators said they have largely avoided the charter school movement proliferating in other Maryland counties, receiving only three applications since state lawmakers passed enabling legislation five years ago. During a budget hearing last week, schools Superintendent Joe Hairstontold lawmakers he resisted Imagine Discovery?s proposal, twice denying its application and approving it only on appeal.
Hairston said the application figures at Imagine Discovery, which is operated by Arlington-based nonprofit Imagine Schools, do not reflect dissatisfaction with the public school system. Charter schools don?t offer better curriculums or solve overcrowding, he said.
“There is no comparison,” he said. “There is no evidence they are better or worse than public schools.”
But Pat Crain, the Maryland regional director for Imagine Discovery, said the numbers make a “bold statement.”
“We?ve talked to folks in the Baltimore school system that are incredibly excited we are going to be relieving capacity issues at some of the neighboring schools in the area,” Crain said. “Maybe parents want a better option.”
County Executive Jim Smith budgeted nearly $2 million for Imagine Discovery, which will add one grade each year until it reaches eighth grade.
That?s funding ? and teachers ? some lawmakers said belongs in the public school system.
“We still have a very successful public school system here,” said Councilman Joe Bartenfelder, a Fullerton Democrat. “This could detract from its effectiveness.”
