Over the past 25 years,we’ve watched the dedication of so many people help the charter school movement grow and evolve. the first dollars wouldn’t arrive until July of the year we were supposed to open. We received no local district funding, leaving us with only the state Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) money to work with. By 2002, I realized charter schools needed to organize to address the many inequities in the system. It was nearly impossible to operate in the same way traditional public schools did. So, I gathered the leaders of the 11 existing charter schools, and together, we created the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS). The UAPCS was formed with two primary goals: to share best practices between schools and to advocate for all charter schools. Initially, we focused on the most urgent issue — funding. We were able to create startup grant programs and made headway in securing funding, similar to what district schools received through local property taxes. We also noticed that the state wasn’t granting the four new charters per year that they were allowed. Instead, they sent all the applications back to the school districts, where support was minimal. We teamed up with Parents for Choice in Education (led by none other than our own Royce Van Tassell) and Rep. Marda Dillree, who sponsored HB152 in the 2003 session. The bill created the Utah State Charter School Board (USCSB), which would review and recommend charter applications for approval to the Utah State School Board (USSB). The bill also required that members of the USCSB demonstrate support for charter schools and that the USSB should only deny recommended applications with strong reason. I served on the USCSB for many years, and Michelle just finished two four-year terms in July. Over the past 25 years, we’ve watched the dedication of so many people help the charter school movement grow and evolve. Countless children have benefited from having their unique needs met by a system that fosters innovation and choice. Not only have charter schools provided more options for parents and students, but their very existence has pushed traditional public schools to innovate and improve as well. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive account of the early days of charter schools in Utah, but rather a first-person reflection on our journey. It has been a blessing to be involved and to have played a small part in the progress of such a meaningful movement. 7
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