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State education officials are reviewing 27 applications for new charter schools across the state, including two in Durham County, two in Wake County and one in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district.
A new state law passed this year raised the limit on charter schools in North Carolina, which previously had been capped at 100. The applications were due last Thursday, and will be reviewed by the N.C. Public Charter School Advisory Council (CSAC) before being submitted to the State Board of Education.
The applicants are aiming to have their schools up and running in August 2012. This first group of applicants is a special, “fast-tracked,” pool because they have a previous relationship or record with the state, according to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction website. For instance, several of the applicants had been interviewed by the state before, but were not granted a charter because of the previous statewide cap.
The state will hold a separate, regular application process later this fall for other charter schools. Those applications will be due in April 2012. (More information on the application process)
The applicants in Triangle school districts are:
Chapel Hill-Carrboro
The Howard & Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School, Angela Lee
Durham County
Research Triangle High School, Pamela Blizzard
Quality Education Academy of Durham, Alethea Bell
Wake County
Widsom Academy, Craig James
Triangle Math and Science Academy, Kenan Gundogdu