Clay County could get charter school

A new school could soon be opening across the Chattahoochee River in Clay County, Ga.

Rev. Garth Duke-Barton, convener of the Clay County Charter School Steering Committee, recently answered several questions via e-mail about a possible charter school in Fort Gaines.

Duke-Barton explained that the first step on the path to opening a charter school is applying for a charter from the state school board.

“They have several steps you must follow to get their approval,” he said. “It takes roughly 18-24 months to open a school.”

The steering committee is “exploring several options for the long-term placement (of the school),” Duke-Barton said, explaining the school’s possible location. “For the short term we are in discussion with one of my churches, Fort Gaines United Methodist, about using their facility.”

The charter school would educate children from a five-county area in west Georgia: Calhoun, Clay, Early, Quitman and Randolph.

“A charter school is a public school and would draw from public funds. If we have a five-county charter school, the money would come directly from the state school board. They pay $5,000 per child for education.”

The projected date of the school opening is August 2010.

Read more on this story in the midweek edition of The Tribune available Tuesday, Dec. 16.