Wednesday was the first day of school for students at the Weilenmann School of Discovery, a brand new charter school in Summit County.

But a state legislator who spent 27 years as a building inspector says the school is unfit for students and teachers and it is still 30 to 60 days from being ready for classes. Charter school backers, however, accuse the legislator of having a vendetta against charter schools.

Larry Wiley, a Democratic representative from West Valley City, said he was contacted by people concerned about the state of the new schoolhouse and he was shocked by what he saw.

He said the school has temporary, wooden handrails up on the staircase, the fire alarm has defective smoke alarms and emergency exits are marked "Construction personel [sic] only" and blocked with construction materials.

Photos provided by Wiley show plywood barriers blocking off portions of the building; unpainted, sheet-rocked walls; bare roof beams with exposed duct work.

Outside, Wiley said, there were rocks where children were playing while dumptrucks hauling dirt were driving in and out of the driveway a few feet away.

"I thought, 'This is crazy. Those kids are apt to get run over,'" said Wiley, who has inspected buildings ranging from houses to the Wells Fargo building in downtown Salt Lake City. "This building is not safe for kids to be in here."

Wiley said the builder told school officials they had received a "temporary certificate of occupancy" from the state fire marshal's office and the building inspector, but in his opinion the building was not nearly ready to be occupied.

Wiley said he was told the builder received an incentive payment if they opened the building Wednesday, "but they compromised the safety of two or three hundred kids if they did so."

Kim Frank, executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, said no charter school would put children in an unsafe environment.

"The charter school went through the proper channels, they had all the paperwork, they had all the inspections. If he has a problem, it is with the building inspectors and not the charter school," she said.

She also said Wiley has opposed charter schools for years and said she is concerned he is abusing his legislative authority. Wiley left his business card identifying him as a legislator with the school officials.

Frank said, "That he's walking around wielding his legislative card and whatever power or authority to threaten people concerns me."

Her husband, Rep. Craig Frank, R-Cedar Hills, said he thinks Wiley's actions are "an ethics issue."

"Number one, it's not in his jurisdiction when it comes to his inspection profession and it's not his legislative district, so what are you doing up there in the first place?" Rep. Frank asked. "Number two, is he really making threats?"

Wiley said he only had his legislative business card, but he never threatened anybody and made clear he had no official authority. He did meet with officials from the Utah State Office of Education and the director of the Department of Public Safety to discuss his concerns about the building inspections and he planned to file a formal complaint.

"It's not an issue of 'is it a charter school or a public school?' The issue is: Is it a building or a structure that is being occupied before its time?" he said.