
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, December 12, 1994                   TAG: 9412120025
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GETTING A BUILDING CAN BE HARDEST PART

If you are going to open a school, the first thing you need is a building. Maybe two or three buildings, if you want a campus-style school.

Securing a building has been one of the most difficult problems facing new charter schools in other states.

In some cases, charter schools have been forced to use antiquated buildings that have required extensive and expensive renovation.

If Virginia approves charter schools, said state Sen. Brandon Bell, the state and local school boards should help the organizers with start-up costs and facilities. The Governor's Commission on Champion Schools has recommended that the charter school should have free use of vacant space owned by the school board and that the space be made available to charter schools on a priority basis.

Bell, who will introduce a charter-school bill next month, said the state should provide funds to help organizers with start-up costs, in particular for schools designed to serve at-risk students.

Granting a charter for an innovative school might be futile if the organizers don't have a place to put it.

by CNB