St. Mary’s School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano on Friday said the impression he was obstructing the opening of the Chesapeake Public Charter School was totally wrong and that all he was trying to do was to ensure best possible standards.

Martirano told The Bay Net he was awaiting a report from the Chesapeake Charter Public School on the seven items he put forward as requirements before he gives the final nod to the school’s opening this year.
Tempers were seen flaring up at a meeting Wednesday at Lexington Park Library. Scores of parents and kids braved the downpour that evening to attend the emotionally charged meeting.

At the meeting, called by the Charter School Alliance, Julia Nichols, president of the alliance, presented the advances made towards the seven conditional items put forward by Martirano.

Martirano was absent from the meeting, attending a family funeral. In his stead, Linda Dudderar, Chief Academic Officer, and two elected school board members, Cathy Allen and Mary Washington, attempted to gracefully assuage the chagrin of parents.

Dudderar fielded the majority of questions, while Allen and Nichols stood by the exit door for the entirety of the meeting.

Stacy Maffei, project director of the school, when asked why Allen and Washington were not invited to come to the podium, responded she had no clue, but added it showed the autonomy of the charter school.

“The main item that remains to be addressed is money,” Maffei frankly conceded. She said she was talking about the $85K that the charter school is required to come up with. She said the $1.4 million the school board will provide for the charter school is not an issue, as that is the per pupil funding provided to all public schools in the county.

 
 Mary Washington and Cathy Allen stand by the door

The Chesapeake Public Charter School agreed to close the $85K financial gap in monies needed for the smooth running of the school.

The school alliance released details of its fiscal health and said it has raised $36,368 as of May 1, 2007 and expects to raise $87,368 by July 1.

“The documents for the letter of credit have been created and are in the process of being signed,” according to a handout from the charter school group. It asserted the process would be completed on May 4.

Only one of Martirano’s items from the to-do list remained incomplete to date, according to the charter school. That item was the request for 160 transfer forms to be turned in by May 4. Fulfilling that stipulation is still a work in progress. The charter school said, “As of 4/30, we had 122 forms.”

Parents cited disparate and multiple reasons why they want their children to attend the charter school.
A Lexington Park couple, Carol and Tim Poole, were unhappy over the school allocated to their daughter as part of recent redistricting. They opted to send their daughter, who is in the fourth grade, to the charter school instead.

“People are worried about whether the school would open or not. We would like to know if the school will open,” Tim Poole said.

Melissa Boyd of Lexington Park was at the meeting with her two children Carissa, 9, and Brian, 8. “The kids do not like [their school],” Boyd