Spokane Close To Establishing First Charter Schools in WA

The independent schools have only recently been legalized in the state

Spokane Public Schools is on its way to establishing the first charter school in Washington.

That should come as no surprise: Superintendent Shelley Redinger announced the district's desire for a charter school before final votes were tallied on the initiative in November. Spokane Public Schools, the state's second-largest district, was the only district to apply by the first deadline, June 30.

"From the very beginning, I wanted us to get ahead of it," said Redinger, who helped establish a charter school in Oregon. "There are a lot of proven methods out there. We're not the first state to do this."

The charter school initiative called for school districts to apply to become "authorizers." If approved, the authorizers would issue requests for proposals to establish specific charter schools or programs. In addition to approved districts, a charter school commission appointed by the state Board of Education acts as an authorizer.