The state's first charter school may not reopen after a one-year hiatus unless school officials can get reassurance from the federal government that unspent start-up grant money will be returned to the school's bank account.

The Franklin Career Academy has been plagued with financial troubles since 2004, when it opened with the goal of keeping at-risk students in school. Local school districts bucked state law and refused to pass along tens of thousands of dollars in education aid, causing the school to close after one year of operation.

That problem was solved this spring, when lawmakers passed a bill allowing the state to pay education aid directly to charter schools. The Franklin Career Academy trustees decided to reopen the school, confident they would receive the aid they were owed. The trustees were also counting on using $283,000 in federal charter school start-up money that was unspent when the school closed.

But now it looks as though state education officials will have to do some wrangling to access that money. The federal start-up grant was for three years, and it expired while the school was closed. Because the school's trustees decided that it would be inappropriate to spend the money while the school was shuttered, the funds are now off-limits.

Bill Grimm, chairman of the school's trustees, told the House charter school oversight committee yesterday that he's "pretty darn unhappy" with the situation. He said he was under the impression that the state Department of Education would work it out with federal education officials in time for the school to reopen in August.

"We're not asking for more money," Grimm said. "We're just asking for the money we didn't spend before."

He added that proponents of the charter school "feel abandoned and really let down by the Department of Education."

But Roberta Tenney of the state Department of Education told the committee that officials have been trying to free up the money for months. The federal start-up grant program didn't include instructions about what to do if a school shut down for a year, she said, and she's been told that the matter is now being handled by lawyers for the federal Department of Education.

It's a good sign that state officials have not received an answer about whether the charter school can be granted an extension because of the one-year closure, Tenney said; it means the lawyers are trying to find a way to help.

"I'm hoping for flexibility on this one," she said. "I'm not totally pessimistic about it."

Those in attendance yesterday brainstormed how to get around the three-year time limit. Some suggested that the Franklin Career Academy dissolve and reapply for the grant as a brand new school. Others suggested that the state use surplus funds to pay the school the $283,000 until federal education officials figure it out.

The most feasible solution seemed to be to ask officials in Washington to turn back the clock on when the three-year period began, since the charter school didn't actually receive the grant money until months after it applied because of a change in state law.

Jane O'Hearn, a former state senator and champion of charter schools who is now working for the federal Department of Education, will serve as the go-between for the Franklin Career Academy and federal education officials. Grimm told her yesterday that he would need to know by July 28 whether the school would have access to the grant money in order to open this fall.

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By MELANIE ASMAR

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