FREEHOLD — A charter school in Freehold Borough may not be on the horizon any time soon, but the idea is still alive in the minds of those who believe in its potential benefits.
Several months ago a committee to gather information about charter schools was formed, according to Borough Councilman John Newman, who is on the committee.
The committee did some preliminary work, but the idea of pursuing a charter school appears to be on hold right now, Newman said on Jan. 25.
A charter school is a public school that can provide instruction from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Charter schools are typically created by parents, teachers, administrators, community leaders or a community organization, according to the Internet website uscharterschools.org.
In New Jersey, charter schools receive funding from the budget of the public school district in which they are located. For example, a charter school in Freehold Borough would be funded by the Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education.
Newman has said he believes a charter school may be a good concept for Freehold Borough.
At the present time, elementary school and middle school pupils who live in the borough attend one of three schools operated by the Freehold Borough K-8 School District.
The point of forming the exploratory committee, according to an earlier interview with Newman, was to figure out if a charter school could complement and enhance the current school system.
Newman reported on Jan. 25 that he had met with school district administrators in December to discuss the issue. He said he and several other interested parties toured the borough’s schools.
“The idea (of a charter school) is kind of stagnant right now, but we discussed the idea of a charter school in the borough with administrators to see if this would be of help in the borough. We also discussed the challenges that a charter school might face,” he said .
Newman said that during the past few months he has had people from Freehold and outside of Freehold contact him about the idea of a charter school.
“There are a great many hurdles the (charter) school would face,” including funding, Newman said. “A charter school has to get a percentage of the funds from the public school district. If the public school district is underfunded, that means the charter school will be underfunded as well.”
School board member Maureen Mac- Cutcheon is the board’s liaison to the charter school committee. She said nothing new has occurred in the last few months on the charter school issue.
MacCutcheon said she appreciated the fact that the charter school committee had included the board in its initial examination of the charter school concept.
“The school district is in the process of strategic planning now with our committee,” she said. “Maybe we will come up with some answers to some concerns and come up with some solutions to the challenges facing the school district.”
She said some of those concerns and solutions may affect the concept of a charter school.