Carroll Classical Charter School will be supported by a $1.62 million federal grant from the Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools, the Carroll Learning Alliance announced Friday.
“This really speaks to the credibility and quality of our plan,” Carroll Learning Alliance President Kim Zentz said, “and that’s something that we are incredibly proud of.”
Carroll Learning Alliance is a nonprofit group established last fall to open Carroll Classical Charter School. The group submitted its application last month to the Board of Education for approval. A decision is expected by the end of July, according to Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jon O’Neal.
The grant is intended to help the school become operational and must be spent from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028. Danielle Daley, treasurer of Carroll Learning Alliance, said the nonprofit submitted a 40-page application in a grant process that was rigorous and competitive.
Funding can be used to purchase furniture, technology, security systems, instructional materials, and professional development for teachers, which Zentz said is critical to make a school operational.
“Typically, public schools just get this stuff,” Daley said, “and charter schools don’t. They have to pay for it out of their [per-pupil allotment]. It can be very, very difficult financially in the beginning stages for charter schools.”
If approved, Carroll Classical Charter School aims to have 280 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and open its doors in fall 2026. Operators plan to expand to seventh and eighth grades by 2028, increasing capacity to 360, according to the application, and plan to acquire an existing 20,000 square-foot building at 576 Johnsville Road in Eldersburg, on 8 acres for the school.
While Maryland school districts are required to fund public charters at rates commensurate with traditional schools, charter schools do not receive funding for facilities or capital projects, meaning they must independently fundraise for those expenses.
The grant includes an additional $125,000 awarded to rural schools. Rural areas tend to provide fewer charter school options, Zentz said, and the rural escalation component of the grant represents the federal government recognizing the discrepancy.
“The federal government does recognize the need for high-quality charter schools in rural areas,” Daley said, “because you typically see charter schools in cities.”
Student transportation to Carroll Classical Charter School will not be available, according to the charter application, unless specified in a student’s individualized education program, or IEP.
Anyone can apply to attend a public charter school, and if interest exceeds the number of available seats, state law requires a lottery system to be used to determine which students are admitted. A charter school may place additional weight or priority on an applicant who is the sibling of an admitted student, or is disabled, limited in English fluency, homeless, or eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals.
Maryland’s first charter school opened in Frederick in 2003. As of the 2022-2023 school year, nearly 24,000 students attended 48 public charter schools in the state, according to a state Department of Education report released last December.
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