This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It takes more than a building to make a school, but just try holding classes without one.
Until Friday, the Salt Lake Arts Academy, a charter school for grades five through eight, didn't have a home for the coming school year. It's not the only charter school struggling to find space for its programs.
The academy's administrators signed a contract Friday with owners of a building at 275 E. 200 South to house the school until a building at 844 S. 200 East can be renovated.
If Amy Wadsworth had her way, the school wouldn't have to move twice.
But Wadsworth, principal of Salt Lake Arts Academy, didn't get her way. Zoning issues, expense and the needs of another culture-based group forced the school to move after only one year in Salt Lake City's old main library building.
The old library is to be home to The Leonardo, an arts, science and culture center that is raising money to match a bond passed by Salt Lake City residents before it can open.
In the meantime, it plans to present a prestigious photography exhibit on the building's first floor starting in October.
The somber nature of the Sebastiaon Salgado "Exodus" exhibit - about world migrations of people due to war and disaster - makes it an inappropriate roommate to a lively middle school, said Mary Tull, The Leonardo's development director.
"We are under contract with extremely strict insurance and security regulations to be able to host this," Tull said. "To have a quality educational experience for students and the community as well as for the academy, it didn't seem to be safe or feasible."
The Salt Lake Arts Academy wants its students to take advantage of downtown culture, but has had trouble finding a home downtown because state law prohibits it from locating within 600 feet of any establishment that serves alcohol. Wadsworth wishes there were room for compromise.
"To bring schools downtown, the city needs to build into its vision how to make that compatible with its interpretation of state liquor laws," she said.
Wadsworth said finding facilities is a primary challenge affecting charter schools, which are designed to give parents educational choices within the public school system.
John Broberg, director of charter schools for the Utah Office of Education, agrees.
"[Finding facilities] is a major challenge," Broberg said. "Just imagine you are a group of parents. You have a terrific plan on curriculum and how you want to develop this school. Now you have to build a facility and finance it. These are people who have heart, desire and drive, but are not trained in building. To come up to speed in that, get the right bids and the right price is very difficult for them."
Broberg is impressed, so far, with the way charter schools are finding facilities, developing curriculum and learning reams of education law, all under public scrutiny.
"The miracle is that they do achieve," said Broberg, citing good results on tests of adequate yearly progress and the Utah Basic Skills and Competency Test.
Mary Ann Clark, whose daughter Sarah, 11, attends Salt Lake Arts Academy, is impressed for other reasons. Being around other students who share her interest in music and art has made Sarah a happier child, Clark said.
"She's opened up and blossomed socially," Clark said. "She smiles more. I've been impressed to see how many kids smile, wave, greet her by name - she seems more happy and comfortable."