Charter school foes file petitions to get issue on fall ballot

Even if a challenge to the state's new charter-school law fails in a Nov. 2 referendum, the first of the schools could not open until April 2005 at the earliest, a state education official said yesterday as opponents of the schools filed petitions to force the vote.

And that spring debut depends on success for charter-school supporters before a jury that has twice rejected their pleas: the statewide electorate.

Opponents of the schools, which operate independently with public money, are banking on that voting pattern to hold as they seek to overturn a law passed by the Legislature this year that added Washington to the 40 states that have authorized the schools.

Charter-school advocates see hope in the growth of their support in the two previous referendums: from 35 percent in 1996 to 48 percent in 2000.

Protect Our Public Schools, a coalition that includes the state teachers union, other labor groups and the League of Women Voters, collected more than 153,000 signatures on its referendum petitions -- well above the 99,000 needed to prompt a vote, coalition campaign director Kelly Evans said yesterday. That should provide more than enough of a cushion to qualify for the ballot, even after duplicate or invalid signatures are scratched off when the secretary of state checks the signings for validity, Evans said.

"They've just been pouring in the last few days," she said.

Yesterday was the deadline for submitting the petitions, and by turning in enough names the coalition triggered the suspension of the charter-school law, according to referendum provisions in the state constitution.

If enough signatures are validated, the law would remain suspended pending official certification on Dec. 2 of the results of the November vote. And even if the law withstands the challenge, its provisions would not allow approval of an application to open a charter school until four months later, said assistant state school superintendent Dawn Billings.

The charter school law, signed by Gov. Gary Locke 90 days ago, was to take effect today, and several groups were poised to file applications with their local school districts, as the law provides.

But late yesterday, state officials sent a message to school districts advising them not to accept any applications until the referendum process runs its course.

Districts may decide on their own to take applications from "charter starters" who bring them in despite the suspension of the law, but the would-be operators should be informed that no action can be taken on their applications and that no advantage will be gained over applicants who wait for the legal issues to be resolved, the message said.

Charter schools are publicly financed, but operate largely outside local school board control and state regulations.

Supporters say the ability of charter school operators to control their budgets, hire their own teachers, design curriculum and adopt their own schedules and academic calendars fosters innovation that can boost student achievement.

Opponents say the schools have a spotty track record and drain resources from hard-pressed mainstream schools.

The Legislature passed a bill authorizing up to 45 new charter schools over the next six years, with non-profit organizations applying for the charters.

The law also would allow for the conversion of an unlimited number of existing, academically failing public schools to charter schools under official supervision.

Only five new charter schools are authorized in the first year of the law, and the first five applicants to win approval would exhaust that allocation.

The referendum drive leaves several hopeful, early-bird charter-school operators in limbo, among them:

Doug Wheeler, director of Zion Preparatory Academy, a private K-8 school in Seattle with a 98 percent African American enrollment. Wheeler would like to expand to grades 9-12 with a separate charter school, possibly to be called Harvard Academy. He would face a struggle with the Seattle School Board, which is on record as opposed to charter schools, and he might have to appeal a board rejection of his application to state officials.

Melissa and Steinar Kristofferson, who run a homeschool-support program in Mount Vernon. They would like to open a charter school offering a traditional education with personalized instruction to students in grades K-3 initially, ultimately expanding to K-12.

Rennee Minsch, leading an effort by parents to reconstitute Packwood Elementary School in Lewis County as a charter school to save it from a scheduled shutdown by the White Pass School District.

Charles and Shelley Flippen, who operate a Montessori preschool in Eatonville. They would like to open a Montessori charter school for grades K-3. (Editor's Note: The location of the preschool was incorrect in the original version of this story.)

The suspension of the law also stalls the state's application for a three-year, $15 million federal grant to help get the schools started. The money would be provided under a program backed by the Bush Administration, a strong supporter of charter schools.

P-I reporter Gregory Roberts can be reached at 206-448-8022 or gregoryroberts@seattlepi.com

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