Little help for charter school

Officials in Community Unit District 300 said this week they are working to resolve issues at the Cambridge Lakes Charter School but that the law limits how much they can get involved in its operation.

"What we can't do is a whole lot greater than what we can do," District 300 board member Monica Clark said on Thursday.

Charter school teachers say they want a greater say in what happens in the classroom and are trying to unionize, while parents have said communication from charter school officials has been lacking.

"We've received several concerned calls and e-mails from parents in the charter school," District 300 Superintendent Ken Arndt said.

But he said parents' concerns were mainly about communication -- not the health and safety of students, financial mismanagement or student achievement.

"Those would be the only reasons we could ever get involved in the charter school legally," Arndt said on Monday. "That is against the law -- to interfere."

But Arndt said he has shared parents' concerns with Larry Fuhrer, executive director of the Northern Kane Educational Corp., which runs the charter school.

District 300 will have more input in the charter school now that board member Monica Clark has been appointed the district's liaison to the school.

Clark said she hopes to improve communication between the charter school, the district and parents.

Clark said she has spoken with Arndt and District 300 spokeswoman Allison Smith about ways to improve communication at the charter school.

Among the ideas that emerged is that the charter school will be able to use Smith and the district's channels of communication to convey information to charter school parents.

Clark attended her first Northern Kane board meeting on Tuesday. Clark was a vocal presence, pressing the board to acknowledge and address parents' concerns.

Arndt said the issues at the Cambridge Lakes are not unusual for a charter school just starting out.

"What they're experiencing right now is very common, experiencing those growing pains in the first year," Arndt said.