News of the unusual public-private partnership fulfills part of the vision for Utah's charter schools, said state charter board chair Brian Allen, a former legislator who sponsored the original charter school legislation in 1998. But the approval process for this school raises many questions at a time when Utah's charter school movement is already under a microscope.
The 2006 Legislature put charter school funding on hold while it conducts an audit of charter school practices and finance.
Legislative Auditor General John Schaff told the Utah State Charter School Board on Thursday that several government agencies will work together to study problems.
At issue is how well charter schools comply with open meeting laws, procurement codes and parental involvement on governing boards. The study also will seek to identify funding sources for charter schools, and to compare charter school financing with district funding in order to create parity, Schaff said.
APA has cozy connections with several Utah lawmakers. The school's original advisory board included Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper; Rep. Todd Kiser, R-Sandy, and Sen. Howard Stephenson, former president of Utah Taxpayer's Association.
Howard Headlee, chairman of APA's board of directors, said the advisory board "has not functioned in the last 2 1/2 years," but has not been dissolved.
Although deadlines for opening schools this fall are long past, the state charter school board voted unanimously Thursday in favor of a proposal that allows APA to open the new campus, on the condition that plans to open this fall must be scuttled if the school is not ready by Oct. 1.
Headlee said the decision will save money for Alpine School District, which will save the cost of busing Traverse Mountain students long distances, since the district has no schools in the area yet.
APA's proposal requested that the school be allowed to expand its enrollment by 530 students for this fall and 530 for fall 2007. The additional students are to be taught at the 40,000-square-foot school to be built and paid for by Mountain Home Development, creators of the Traverse Mountain Community.
"It will exceed everyone's expectations" said Ted Heap, a principal in Mountain Home Development. Heap's wife, Sheila, was one of the founders of APA, and their children attend the school's original campus. He became interested in a business relationship with the school after witnessing its effectiveness first-hand, he said.
Heap said building the school makes good financial sense for his company, which aims to create a community centered on the recreational and educational needs of families. He said his company has plans to provide as many as three campuses for APA in the Traverse Mountain development.
"We're looking at a bigger picture for this development," he said. "We think of [the schools] as an amenity."
Because the newly approved campus will be an expansion of an existing charter school, the state charter board decided to allow it to go forward without submission of a charter application, a process required of other charter schools.
The decision could skirt the process for answering questions about how the new school will be governed, and what its effect will be upon the Alpine School District, whose boundaries include the school site.
Alpine School District is closed for its spring break, and officials were not available for comment.
Jordan School District boundaries contain APA's original campus, and a portion of the Traverse Mountain development that will feed the new school.
Janene Bowen, Jordan's No Child Left Behind specialist, told the state charter board her district has concerns about the state charter board's decision not to require a charter application from the new school. Districts typically review charter applications, she said, a public process that creates opportunities to address concerns and work out problems.
Bowen characterized APA's proposal as "an attempt to bypass the authorization process," and raised concerns about elitism in APA's policies.
"Charter schools are public schools, responsible for meeting the needs of all students," Bowen said. "We want schools to close the state's achievement gap, and we feel that preference should be given to schools that serve at-risk students well. APA does not have demographics that reflect our district."
No state or federal funds will be used in creating APA's new school, a scenario that allows some exceptions to federal policies adhered to by other charter schools. By rejecting federal funds, the school will be allowed to give preference to children living within a 2-mile radius of its building - instead of accepting all comers, as Utah's other charter schools must do.
A prospectus for the Traverse Mountain development estimates that the average household income for the area will be $76,629.
Another worry aired by Bowen is the lack of parental involvement and local control at APA's original campus.
Headlee said the school follows a nondemocratic governance model that does not include parents in its decision-making process.
"Our goal is to provide a stable, high-quality product," Headlee said. "Our parents vote with their feet by coming to the school."
Headlee, who is president of the Utah Bankers Association and past vice-president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said he is unsure what contractor will build the school or how it would be financed, nor is he certain about whether APA will lease the school, though he said APA has no interest in owning it.
"We just educate kids," he said.
Heap had no firm answers for those questions either, but said the school will be ready in time.
For Allen, the state charter board's decision was a clear one.
"We have a business willing to build a facility," Allen said. "They are one of the most successful charter schools in the state, with proven financial prowess. It's at a different geographical location, but that shouldn't matter, as long as they're good.”
