It’s a day many school choice advocates have been waiting for - the first wave of charter schools established under a new Montana law can open on July 1.
From his office in Billings, Superintendent Erwin Garcia said staff have submitted all the paperwork the Montana Office of Public Instruction requires for the district to open three new charter schools on July 1.
"Because our schools are high schools, they fall within different expectations, so it was easier for us to comply,” he said.
But not every district that had a charter school approved under the new law is having the same experience.
A new lawsuit filed against the Office of Public Instruction and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen alleges OPI is standing in the way of charter schools trying to open their doors.
“If we had an elementary school as a charter school,” said Garcia. “We would be in a situation that would definitely limit our ability to operate and receive the funding for the next school year.”
The group suing OPI is the Montana Quality Education Coalition, which includes representatives from school districts and education associations from around the state.
The legal complaint says some of the districts trying to open the 19 charter schools approved by the Board of Public Education are having to jump through administrative hoops that will prevent them from meeting the necessary deadlines to open on time or receive funding.
“And, of course, in solidarity with the other districts, we would like to have a clear pathway,” said Garcia.
In Bozeman, public schools district superintendent Casey Bertram said, like Billings, their two charter schools are also unaffected by the alleged delays with OPI.
“I would say that this disagreement between these educational entities in Montana hasn’t caused us any delays at this time.”
Bertram said one of the two charter schools will postpone opening until next year to build enrollment.
