![[ED Home]](/icons/edhome.gif){kind=icon}
FOR RELEASE
August 28, 1999
Contact:
Melinda Kitchell Malico
(202) 401-1008
CLINTON ANNOUNCES $95 MILLION IN SUPPORT
FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $95 million in federal grants to help meet the growing demand for public charter schools, President Clinton announced today.
A total of $41 million is being awarded to 19 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to fund the first year of three-year grants to support start-up and development of additional charter schools. In addition, more than $54 million in new funds will support schools in 13 additional states that are receiving their second- or third-year funding.
"With this step, we'll help to raise standards, raise expectations and raise accountability, by having public schools that are free to create, to innovate, and be held accountable," said President Clinton. "This is the kind of education we want for all of our children." "Charter schools offer parents and students more choice in the kinds of public education available to them coupled with public accountability," said Riley. "It's clear that charter schools are the right public school option for an increasing number of students."
Charter schools are public schools operating with a contract-or charter-from a public agency. They are created by groups of parents, teachers, school administrators, or others who want to provide alternatives within the public school system. Museums, local businesses, and community organizations are among the partners involved. Charter schools are public schools that are free, open to all, and designed to be publicly accountable, and responsive to both student and parent needs. Charter schools must be non-sectarian and abide by the civil rights, health and safety laws. The schools must also meet standards set forth in their charters for students and the school as a whole, or the chartering agency can close the school.
More than 1,200 charter schools operated during the 1998-99 school year. With at least 1,700 charter schools expected to operate this year, the nation is more than halfway to the President's goal of establishing 3,000 charter schools by the year 2002.
President Clinton has requested $130 million from Congress for the Public Charter Schools Program (PCSP) in Fiscal Year 2000 to provide start-up funds for a new round of schools as well as continued support for existing charter schools. The three-year grants cover costs associated with growth and development. The President's request would support up to 1,400 charter schools serving some 400,000 students.
Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Virginia are receiving their first state grants under the federal charter schools program. Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are receiving new grants in 1999, after their initial three-year grants expired last year. While individual schools in Arizona and New Hampshire previously received support, additional schools in these states are receiving their first grants under the program this year.
California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas are receiving either their second or final year of support to continue charter schools development.
Congress reauthorized the program under the Charter Schools Expansion Act of 1998. The 1999 grant competition included incentives for states to strengthen accountability in their charter school programs. In announcing the new law, President Clinton said the act "will help foster the development of high-quality charter schools" and "lead to improvements in public education more generally."
Under the act, states may use up to 10 percent of their state grant to fund two-year grants to successful charter schools that allow them to share best practices with those who are creating new schools and those operating existing public schools. To be eligible for the new grants, charter schools must have operated for at least three consecutive years and have demonstrated improved student achievement, high levels of parent satisfaction, and the leadership necessary to ensure a financially secure and educationally viable charter school. While most states with eligible charter schools are expected to conduct their own competitions for dissemination grants, the U.S. Education Department directly funded dissemination grants in two individual schools in Arizona.
In addition to changes in the federal grant program, the Charter School Expansion Act of 1998 also ensured that charter schools receive other federal funds for which they are eligible within their first five months of opening. This change was designed to help charter schools get access to federal funding distributed through formulas, such as Title I, special education and other funds.
NOTE TO THE EDITORS: Following is a list of grantees.
| FISCAL YEAR 1999 Public Charter Schools Program Grantees-New Grants |
||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| ALASKA | ||
| Juneau | State Department of Education Contact: Marjorie Menzi (907) 465-8720 | $526,316 |
| ||
| ARKANSAS | ||
| Little Rock | Arkansas Department of Education Contact: Charles D. Watson (501) 682-4474 | 368,421 |
| ||
| ARIZONA | ||
| Flagstaff | Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy Contact: Karen Butterfield (520) 779-7223 | 80,350 |
| Fountain Hills | Fountain Hills Charter School Contact: Michael Bashaw (602) 837-0046 | 113,100 |
| Gilbert | East Valley Academy Contact: Janet Stoeppelmann (602) 946-3071 | 114,000 |
| Globe | Destiny School Contact: Scott Williamson (520) 425-0925 | 100,000 |
| Mesa | Desert Pathways Charter School Contact: Cathryn Hitchings (480) 924-0570 | 100,000 |
| Mesa | Sonoran Desert School Contact: Patricia Dalman (480) 380-0610 | 105,000 |
| Phoenix | Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center Contact: Linda Downing (602) 564-8076 | 96,000 |
| Phoenix | Phoenix School of Academic Excellence Contact: Adele Ferrini (602) 553-1988 | 102,638 |
| Phoenix | School for the Advancement of Gifted Education Contact: Sam Ruiz (602) 955-1106 | 100,000 |
| Phoenix | Villa Montessori Contact: Marilyn Burbach (602) 955-2210 | 92,000 |
| Phoenix | Westwind Academy Contact: Debra Slagle (602) 864-77331 | 107,000 |
| Prescott | Mountain Oak Charter School Contact: Sandra Halldorson (520) 771-9239 | 117,800 |
| South Tucson | Project YES Middle School Contact: Charlotte Swift (520) 884-1602 | 95,000 |
| Tempe | Arizona State University Contact: Fred Staley (602) 965-3133 | 121,543 |
| Tempe | D. W. Higgins Institute Contact: Martha Wallace (480) 413-0829 | 131,593 |
| Tucson | Davis Education Center Contact: Marie Cephers (520) 772-8130 | 100,000 |
| Tucson | Laurent Clerc Elementary School Contact: Samual Supalla (520) 292-9554 | 115,838 |
| Tucson | PPEP & Affiliates Contact: Jim Parks (520) 294-6997 | 142,949 |
| Winslow | Tolani Lake Elementary School Academy Contact: Ron White (520) 686-6351 | 102,500 |
| ||
| CONNECTICUT | ||
| Hartford | State Department of Education Contact: Jennifer Niles (860) 566-1233 | 1,203,572 |
| ||
| DELAWARE | ||
| Dover | State Department of Education Contact: Larry Gabbert (302) 739-4629 | 723,529 |
| ||
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | ||
| Washington | District of Columbia Public Schools Contact: Gloria Kinzer-Browner (202) 442-5577 | 1,736,842 |
| ||
| FLORIDA | ||
| Tallahassee | State Department of Education Contact: Tracey Bailey (850) 414-0780 | 7,276,500 |
| ||
| HAWAII | ||
| Honolulu | State Department of Education Contact: Arthur Kaneshiro (808) 586-3124 | 2,631,579 |
| ||
| IDAHO | ||
| Boise | State Department of Education Contact: Carolyn Mauer (208) 332-6974 | 842,105 |
| ||
| ILLINOIS | ||
| Springfield | State Department of Education Contact: Gail Lieberman (217) 782-5053 | 1,147,368 |
| ||
| NORTH CAROLINA | ||
| Raleigh | State Department of Education Contact: Grova Bridgers (919) 715-3862 | 4,527,600 |
| ||
| NEVADA | ||
| Fallon | Gateways To Success Charter School Contact: Judy Kroshus (775) 423-6322 | 117,100 |
| Reno | Sierra Nevada Academy Contact: Ricci Elkins (775) 626-2720 | 100,000 |
| ||
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | ||
| Bradford | Kearsarge Charter Middle School Contact: Susan Farber (603) 938-5228 | 32,363 |
| ||
| NEW JERSEY | ||
| Trenton | State Department of Education Contact: David Hespe (609) 292-5850 | 2,763,120 |
| ||
| NEW YORK | ||
| Albany | State Department of Education Contact: Paul Hayford (518) 473-1755 | 4,423,053 |
| ||
| OKLAHOMA | ||
| Oklahoma City | State Department of Education Contact: Shelly Hickman (405) 521-3331 | 800,000 |
| ||
| OREGON | ||
| Salem | State Department of Education Contact: Joyce Benjamin (503) 378-3573 | 2,000,000 |
| ||
| PUERTO RICO | ||
| Hato Rey | State Department of Education Contact: Angel Melendez (787) 759-200 | 2,625,000 |
| ||
| UTAH | ||
| Salt Lake City | State Department of Education Contact: Larry Horyna (801) 538-7824 | 500,000 |
| ||
| VIRGINIA | ||
| Richmond | State Department of Education Contact: Yvonne Thayer (804) 786-5392 | 631,579 |
| ||
| WISCONSIN | ||
| Madison | State Department of Education Contact: John Sauerberg (608) 266-5728 | 4,000,000 |
| Total | $41,013,358 | |
| FISCAL YEAR 1999 Public Charter Schools Program Grantees-Continuations | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| ARKANSAS | ||
| Little Rock | Little Rock School District Contact: Francis Cawthon (501) 324-2000 | 47,349 |
| ||
| ARIZONA | ||
| Gilbert | Desert Springs Scholastic Institute Contact: Nick Moeller (480) 545-7660 | 100,000 |
| Glendale | Career Pathways Academy Contact: DeAnna Foulds (602) 978-8838 | 74,687 |
| Lake Havasu | Desert Technology High School Contact: Judy Mahler (520) 453-3383 | 118,000 |
| Phoenix | The Learning Institute Contact: Adele Ferrini (602) 840-2302 | 50,935 |
| Phoenix | Precision Academy Contact: Daniel Martinez (602) 791-7700 | 100,000 |
| Surprise | Paragon Management, Inc. Contact: Jack Caudle (602) 527-0360 | 98,250 |
| Tempe | Integrity Education Center Contact: Ken Mullan (602) 731-4829 | 87,200 |
| Phoenix | The Village Contact: Linda Parson (602) 258-6990 | 103,714 |
| Tucson | Ha:san Preparatory and Leadership School Contact: Allison Reeves (520) 882-8826 | 87,025 |
| Winslow | Little Singer Community Junior High School Contact: Mark Sorensen (520) 526-6680 | 111,400 |
| Winslow | Seba Dalkai School Board Contact: Kyril Calsoyas (520) 657-3208 | 101,000 |
| ||
| CALIFORNIA | ||
| Sacramento | State Department of Education Contact: Ting Sun (916) 445-6761 | 12,631,579 |
| ||
| COLORADO | ||
| Denver | State Department of Education Contact: Bill Windler (303) 866-6631 | 3,850,000 |
| ||
| GEORGIA | ||
| Atlanta | State Department of Education Contact: Beverly Schrenger (404) 656-4151 | 2,421,053 |
| ||
| HAWAII | ||
| Honolulu | Waialae Charter School Contact: Susan Minami (808) 733-4880 | 71,780 |
| Kailua | Lanikai Elementary School Contact: Donna Estomago (808) 266-7844 | 156,900 |
| ||
| LOUISIANA | ||
| Baton Rouge | State Department of Education Contact: Kathy Matheny (225) 219-4540 | 1,006,452 |
| ||
| MASSACHUSETTS | ||
| Malden | State Department of Education Contact: Edward Kirby (617) 727-0075 | 3,756,432 |
| ||
| MICHIGAN | ||
| Lansing | State Department of Education Contact: Joan May (517) 373-4631 | 6,000,000 |
| ||
| MINNESOTA | ||
| Saint Paul | State Department of Education Contact: Jessie Montano (612) 296-2181 | 4,646,666 |
| ||
| MISSISSIPPI | ||
| Cleveland | Cleveland School District Contact: Beverly Hardy (601) 748-2734 | 107,785 |
| ||
| MISSOURI | ||
| Jefferson City | State Department of Education Contact: Stephen Barr (573) 751-3250 | 1,706,677 |
| ||
| NEVADA | ||
| Reno | I Can Do Anything, Inc. Contact: Jill Williams (702) 857-1544 | 113,825 |
| ||
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | ||
| Bedford | The Bedford Academy Contact: Edward Kruger (603) 471-2985 | 25,300 |
| Tamworth | Tamworth Charter High School Contact: Maura King (603) 323-2038 | 25,000 |
| ||
| OHIO | ||
| Columbus | State Department of Education Contact: Patricia Hughes (614) 466-2937 | 3,157,895 |
| ||
| PENNSYLVANIA | ||
| Harrisburg | State Department of Education Contact: Tim Daniels (717) 705-2343 | 2,333,333 |
| ||
| RHODE ISLAND | ||
| Providence | State Department of Education Contact: Dennis Cheek (401) 222-4600 | 220,050 |
| ||
| SOUTH CAROLINA | ||
| Columbia | State Department of Education Contact: Cathryn Samulski (803) 734-8277 | 1,447,297 |
| ||
| TEXAS | ||
| Austin | State Department of Education Contact: Brooks Flemister (512) 463-9575 | 9,473,685 |
| Total | $54,231,269 | |
| Grand Total | $95,244,627 | |
###