Charter schools can improve education but not if they offer the same curriculum as what is now available, a Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce audience was told Monday.
“In order for a school district to approve a charter school, it would need a real assurance that the methodology they will employ at the charter school would be significantly different,” said Kris Mayer, a member of the state Board of Education and Port Townsend resident.
“You can’t do the same thing and expect different results, so they must have some indication that the methodology would produce a different result.”
Mayer said charter schools, which will be run by privately owned nonprofits but receive public per-student funding, are designed to fill gaps in current educational options but must offer specific solutions to these shortcomings.
If 100 students decide to attend a charter school instead of a public school, the per-student state reimbursement would be allocated to the charter school.