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Questions remain after I-1240, charter schools, passes - North Kitsap Herald

Questions remain after I-1240, charter schools, passes - North Kitsap Herald:


Questions remain after I-1240, charter schools, passes


Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991

North Kitsap Herald Education/Sports Reporter
NOVEMBER 16, 2012 · UPDATED 2:52 PM 
OLYMPIA — The initiative to allow charter schools in Washington has been approved by state voters. But questions about how it will affect public schools remain, even for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
“There are just a lot of questions,” OSPI spokesman Nathan Olson said Wednesday.
Olson could not say how charter schools will affect the current public schools. That, he said, will be worked out in the next Legislative session. The initiative allows charter schools to be funded by the state, but run by nonprofits outside school districts. Charter schools receive the same amount of money per student as other school districts — about $5,800.
The initiative allows 40 public charter schools to open over a five-year period, eight schools max each year.
In Kitsap, the initiative passed with 38,976 votes (52.16 percent) to 35,751 (47.84 percent) against.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn supports charter schools, Olson said. He did not, however, support this initiative because it cuts OSPI out of the loop.
“The Constitution is clear: K-12 falls under OSPI authority,” Olson said.
Olson did not know of any potential charter schoo