HILLSBOROUGH: Charter school expands its reach

By Andrew Corselli, Staff Writer
   A charter school trying to start in Flemington has expanded its potential coverage area to include Hillsborough.
   Trillium Charter School, which will open in the fall of 2012, will teach kindergarten through fourth grades in its first year, and then add one grade each year until it gets to eight, according to Ilana Kriegsman, lead founder of the school.
   A public information session from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, at the In Balance Center for Living, at 230 South Branch Rd., will describe the school for parents.
   The Hillsborough public school system would pay Trillium 90 percent of the cost per pupil, tapping the local school treasury.
   ”State law requires school districts of residence pay directly to the charter school for each student enrolled an amount equal to 90 percent of the sum of the budget year equalization aid per pupil and the pre-budget year general fund tax levy per pupil,” said Superintendent Jorden Schiff.
   Sunday’s meeting will feature a discussion regarding the basics of what Trillium has to offer and leave time for questions and answers.
   During the inaugural school year, Trillium will have 136 students at maximum capacity and each year thereafter 32 more students will be admitted. In 2016, once the school boasts an eighth grade program, there will be 32 students in each grade and 24 in the kindergarten program at maximum capacity, according to Ms. Kriegsman.
   The school will give priority to students from the Flemington-Raritan regional district, Readington Township and Hillsborough Township. If there are more applicants than openings, the school will hold a lottery.
   If there are vacancies, any New Jersey resident may apply. Trillium is in the process of choosing a facility, but Ms. Kriegsman said the building will be as central as possible to the three districts.
   Students from the sending districts will be transported, although it is unclear if students within a two-mile radius will receive transportation. Students who live within a two-mile radius of the school will have their transportation privileges left up to the discretion of the sending district, and the sending district’s policy must be the same as their policy for busing students to regular district schools, according to Trillium’s website.
   Students from other districts will have two options from their local districts. They could accept a stipend in lieu of busing which can be applied to the cost of transportation arranged by the student’s family. The other option is that the family can contribute the difference of the stipend, which was $884 in 2009, and the cost of busing. The family will receive a letter in August which ask the family to make the decision, according to Trillium’s website, which is www.trilliumeducation.org.