Staff Writer

The Jonesville-Lockhart Charter School got a boost Friday with the announcement of a $420,000 federal grant.

Shirley Cromer, chairman of the Jonesville-Lockhart Charter School Governing Board, said the school had been awarded a Federal Planning and Implementation Grant. The grant, which is administered by the S.C. Department of Education, is to be spent during the school's first two years of operation for items such as office and classroom equipment, travel, administrative and other expenses associated with the start-up of the school.

"This award shows the Jonesville-Lockhart Charter School has not only met the approval of the state of South Carolina, but also has met the requirements of the United States federal government,” Mrs. Cromer said. “This grant was established to help public charter school efforts provide choices for parents. The grant also helps provide for charter schools to be laboratories for innovations in education."

Vice chairman Mark Sanders said the first $20,000 will be received before the school opens in August. Another $200,000 will be sent after the school opens and the balance in 2009. Sanders said the board is working with Kelly Moser Consulting to set up an account to handle the money. He described Kelly Moser as a financial services organization that handles financing for charter schools and the S.C. Public Charter School District.

A public charter school is a public school financed through the S.C. Public Charter School District. It does not receive any local property tax revenue but receives state and federal funding for operations based on the number of students. The school is tuition-free and governed by a board elected by parents and staff.

Organizers hope to open the charter school by July. In January, the board designated a 60-acre site on the corner of the Kelly Road and S.C. 9 near Kelly One Stop as the site of the school. The purchase of the property is being handled by the school's developer and financial backer, Rick Walker of the Oak Capital Group. The charter school will lease the property from Oak Capital under a lease-purchase arrangement.

The board also appointed former Jonesville High School principal Dr. Richard Baldwin the school's director. It also ratified the school's mascot (Patriots) and colors (maroon, navy and white).

Mrs. Cromer said the school is still taking applications for employment and enrollment and that interest has been very positive.

“We continue to receive K-12 enrollment forms from Cherokee, Chester, Spartanburg, York and Union counties,” she said. “We welcome these students and their families into the Jonesville Lockhart Charter School Patriots family. We encourage others to join our efforts.

“As the first public charter school sponsored by the State Public Charter School District, we are living up to our school motto, ‘Leading the Way to Educational Excellence,'”she said. “Together, we will fulfill that vision.”

Sanders added that the school has received a number of applications from teachers and administrators interested in working at the school.