Kalispell leads the way on public charters

Kalispell Public Schools is venturing into the public charter school realm with an eye on being a leader and innovator for the state’s newest educational opportunity.

School District 5 administrators this month began the processes of applying for permission to establish public charter programs under a new Montana law created this spring through House Bill 549. 

Charter schools are often created for specialized purposes, such as hands-on trades, or hyper-focused on sciences and arts. They are publicly funded and tuition-free, and under HB 549, schools created by the district would be governed by the publicly elected board of trustees.