The Mt. Jewett Charter School Coalition has until Nov. 15 to submit its application under an amended policy adopted by the Kane School Board.

The Coalition is planning to open a tuition-free charter school in Mt. Jewett for the start of the 2008-09 school year.

According to the policy, the school board will hold at least one public hearing on the charter school proposal within 45 days of the receipt of the application. The policy calls for the school board to either grant or deny the charter school application within 75 days of the first public hearing.

Evaluation of the charter school application will be made, in part, on comments made by teachers, parents, students and community members.

The policy also calls for the school board to consider “the extent to which the charter school is able to provide unique and diversified educational opportunities for students that are not provided by other schools within the district.”

If the school board denies the application, “the reason for denial and a clear description of application deficiencies” will be made in writing, according to the policy. A copy of a denial letter will go to the State Charter School Appeal Board, which has been created under the state’s Charter School Law.

If the charter school application is approved, the charter will be in place for three to five years and may be renewed for five-year periods, the policy states.

According to the policy, the school board will “annually assess” whether a charter school is “meeting the goals of the charter.” A charter school is required to submit an annual report. Charter school records are open to review by the school board.

Under the policy, the Kane Area School District will provide transportation to students attending a charter school. Transportation will be provided even on days the district schools are not in session.

The policy requires the charter school to maintain adequate insurance.

Prior to adopting the charter school policy last week, the Kane School Board amended the guidelines to delete a section. This section enabled a school employee to return to a “comparable position in the district” after taking up to a five-year leave of absence to work in a charter school.

School board member Ed Kocjancic Jr. made a suggestion to “strike the paragraph” and his colleagues on the board agreed.

The amended policy was adopted by a 9-0 vote of the school board. Joining Kocjancic in favoring the amended policy were board president Larry Lamping and board members Dick Coleman, Ken Kane, Dave Westerburg, Gary Rhodes, Harry Steele, Stephanie Eckstrom and Gary Ziegler.

Two members of the Mt. Jewett Charter School Coalition spoke at the school board meeting.

In his comments, Chuck Paar said the Coalition plans to “develop a curriculum that will not only retain the people already in town, but hopefully make Mt. Jewett an attractive alternative to those looking to relocate to the area.”

He said the proposed charter school in Mt. Jewett might seem to be “detrimental” to some people. But he claims the charter school will “in reality be a benefit as we expect retention and growth rather than almost certain decline we now face.”

Paar indicated that the student body for the proposed charter school in Mt. Jewett would come from the Smethport, Bradford and Johnsonburg school districts in addition to the Kane Area School District.

He pledged that students attending the charter school would be “more than adequately prepared for their next level of learning. He said the charter school would “strengthen” the Kane school district and “be one of your finest attributes.”

Skye Ognen, president of the Mt. Jewett Charter School Coalition, said the proposed charter school would be “a home of academic excellence.”

“We intend to provide the children who attend our school with a first-rate academic experience,” she said. “We intend to provide a curriculum like no other you have seen in this area.”

Ognen said the proposed charter school in Mt. Jewett would provide parents with “options.”

“They can review the curriculums of both their respective school district and our charter school and make a decision of where they want their child to attend school with no tuition fees,” she said.

The Kane School Board closed the Mt. Jewett Elementary School in June as part of a school consolidation plan. Mt. Jewett students in kindergarten through 12th grade now attend schools in Kane.