Opening farther out on Horizon

Funding biggest factor in charter school delay

Charleston County students will have to wait another year before they can enroll in Horizon Middle Academy, a new charter school that was slated to open this fall.

School organizers announced Tuesday their intention to delay the school's opening for a number of reasons, including lack of a building, not enough students and inadequate state funding. School leaders said it's better to wait a year and open a quality program rather than start in a temporary facility with overcrowded classes, insufficient staffing and limited funding.

"We hate to disappoint parents and the community, but we are also committed to maintaining the integrity of the program," said Tina Beck, chairwoman of the school's planning committee.

One of the biggest factors in the delay is the school's funding, Beck said. South Carolina charter schools have two options for approval — the local school board or a new, statewide charter school board. Horizon Middle was the first local charter school to get the OK from the state board, and its funding will come from the state district.

The problem is that charter schools in the statewide district get less money than other schools, Beck said. Schools in the statewide district will get an estimated $5,000 per student, and the state's average per-pupil funding is $10,566.

Lawmakers say they agreed to create the statewide district with the understanding that its schools would get state — but not local — money, and the new sales tax replaced local revenue. Charter school supporters say they deserve a share of any state revenue available to districts.

"It's just so inequitable," said Barbara Nielsen, superintendent of the South Carolina Public Charter School District. "These are public schoolchildren, just like any others."

Horizon Middle and one Clarendon County charter school will be unable to open this fall because of the funding gap, which has made finding an affordable building or land difficult. Nielsen said she hopes the General Assembly will pass a bill to extend charters from five to 10 years, which would help with the amortization schedule for schools borrowing money.

Horizon Middle leaders still are trying to find land on which to build the school, and they haven't been able to find temporary space to open this fall.

The school's funding is based on its enrollment, and it also lacked enough children to fund a basic program, Beck said. The school had about 120 students but needed at least 100 more. A May deadline to turn in enrollment figures didn't leave enough time to recruit more students, Beck said.

Horizon also didn't have enough teachers, and an additional year will ensure more recruiting and planning time, she said.

"This was a very difficult decision for us," Beck said. "Our vision is strong, and our commitment is even greater. We just ran out of time."

Donna Hughes planned to enroll her son, Daniel, at Horizon Middle this fall for sixth grade, and she said it's broken her heart that the school can't open. Her son needs a hands-on curriculum in a small school setting, and that's what Horizon would offer that many other schools don't, she said.

Hughes isn't sure where her son will go next year, and she's worried that he won't get as good an education as he would have at Horizon, she said. She plans to switch him from whatever school he attends to Horizon for seventh grade.

"I still am excited," she said. "I'll be out there doing whatever I need to get it going. I wish I could get it going now. They know what they're doing, and they want to help kids."

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@post andcourier.com.

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