Is there a need — or even room — for a charter school in Brunswick?
Local resident and businessman John Stadler has suggested there is.
Stadler’s proposal would establish the Brunswick Landing International School at the former naval air station site. It would be a mix of Advanced Placement secondary school and early college curricula.
What’s more, as much as half of the enrollment would be tuition-paying students from other countries. The mix is projected to enrich local culture as well as fatten local education budgets, taking some of the strain off property tax funded public schools.
Stadler said the charter school also would hire staff through district subcontracts, and pay for its own sports and other extracuricular activities and programs.
“The first two years would be the Charter School, while the last two years would be provided in collaboration with Southern Maine Community College-Brunswck Landing or University of Southern Maine,” he wrote in an email to The Times Record.
“The curriculum would be based on the International Baccalaureate and the Certificate Program. These programs provide excellent opportunity for all types of kids, giving them many ways to show their passions and talents.”
In August, Stadler submitted a draft proposal to Brunswick schools Superintedant Paul Perzanoski, a frequent critic of charter schools.
Perzanoski has said charter schools tend to subtract students and funding from their publicly-funded counterparts.
Regarding Stadler’s proposal, however, Perzanoski says he is “lukewarm.”
The board has scheduled a Nov. 28 workshop to discuss the proposal.
Stadler currently is in Beijing, China, working to found a digital arts academy in Wuxi, about 100 miles west of Shanghai on the East China Sea. He does not expect to be stateside in time for the workshop.
Perzanoski said he has not yet formed an opinion of the proposal.
“I’m just bringing information to the board members,” he said. “(Stadler) has got an interesting concept of working with students from China who would pay tuition and stay with local host families.”
Tuition for a Chinese exchange student could be as much as $25,000 to $35,000 per year, Perzanoski said.
jtleonard@timesrecord.com
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