Mentley said there are openings in kindergarten classes but grades 1-6 are full. Mentley said she is frustrated that charter schools, under Michigan law, cannot go into debt or propose a bond issue to ensure that a school could be constructed. On Monday, students at the school shared classrooms and studied music in the hallway. Despite the uncertainty, a wall in one hallway is devoted to supportive comments from parents. Donald McCrimmon, the provost at Lake Superior State University where Grand Traverse Academy gets its charter, said in an interview in December that the school's funding for either building or renting a facility has to be creative because Michigan law provides for the creation of charter schools and funding for their operation, but not for money to build them.
Charter schools are public schools funded with state dollars.
They are required to follow state law, but are allowed to experiment with curriculum. There are six other charter schools in northwestern Lower Michigan. Patrick Sullivan is the reporter for crime, courts and public safety. The Traverse City Record-Eagle. All rights reserved.