Posted: Sunday, June 27, 2004 10:00 pm
The long waiting list at Sand Ridge ought to tell Lebanon school officials something. Like, how can the regular public schools become as popular?
Sand Ridge is a charter school organized under the Oregon laws that allow such offshoots of the public school system. Under its authorization from the Lebanon Community Schools, the enrollment is limited to 208. The school says it has a waiting list of 168.
As reported last week, what seems to be most attractive about the school is that it limits class size to 18. Parents also feel they have more of a role in the school than they would elsewhere.
The 1999 Legislature authorized such independent schools under contracts with local school boards. They get 80 percent of the state budget allocations that public schools get, with the authorizing school districts receiving the other 20 percent.
Parents who pay attention know how their children are progressing in school. So if the waiting list to get in is long, as it is at Sand Ridge, the word has gotten around that the results are good.
Charter school supporters have made the argument that independent schools can get excellent results on less money. Sand Ridge seems to be proving their point. (hh)