Madison School Board Approves Badger Rock Charter Middle School: "Could Cost More Than Expected"

Channel3000:

new one-of-a-kind charter school in the city of Madison could soon become a reality, but an error in crunching numbers may mean more of a burden for city taxpayers.

The error was found just a few weeks ago, and it could put taxpayers on the hook for an additional $380,000 over the next five years.

But proponents of the proposed Badger Rock charter school have been scrambling to find ways to trim costs. And despite the bigger budget numbers, they said they hope the Madison School Board sees the bigger picture and not just dollar signs.

The year-round, agriculture- and green-based school on Madison's southwest side would start with 50 students in sixth grade. The school would add grades seven and eight in the following two years, for a total of 150 students.

Support for the school has been great until what's being called a "hiccup" two weeks ago.

As part of the conditions that passed, the board must execute a contract with the school no later than April 1 to operate it for a five-year period. Board member Lucy Mathiak added a sentence saying the contract shall define the district's financial obligations for each of the five years and shall contain language limiting the district's financial liability. Mathiak's amendment passed 6-1.

Much more on Badger Rock here.

It would be interesting to see how the funding/review/political model compares with the ill-fated Studio School proposal and, how current public schools might fare as a "startup" today.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 14, 2010 3:02 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas