Even as she and others were organizing the Capitol School more than 25 years ago in Tuscaloosa, Barbara Rountree hoped the new school would become Alabama’s first charter school.

A charter school is a tuition-free school of choice that is publicly funded but independently run.

"We thought that because Georgia had charter school legislation, and there were others going on in Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi, we (in Alabama) would have charter school legislation soon," said Rountree, who has been school director for the self-described "Alabama’s international school" since it first opened in 1993. "That’s why we started the Capitol School; we thought we would be the first charter school in the state.

"We were wrong."

Rountree, who came to Capitol after teaching for 25 years at the University of Alabama, remained hopeful that her goal would be reached. In 2015, the state passed its first charter school law, albeit with pushback from some educators who were concerned that charter schools would drain resources from other public schools. However, the Capitol School’s plans were again thwarted when the law stipulated that no private schools could apply for charter designation.

"That was a big blow to wait all these years," she said.

Instead, Rountree and others began designing plans for a whole new K-12 charter school, Capstone Charter School. This past week, Rountree and her newly formed board for the school took its first step toward making the school a reality when the Alabama Public Charter School Commission approved its application to incorporate.

Right now, there are only two operating charter schools in Alabama: the University Charter School on the campus of the University of West Alabama and ACCEL Day and Evening Academy in Mobile.

Capstone has set its capacity at 300 students for its first year and would be open on a first-come, first-served basis for children living in Tuscaloosa city limits. If there are vacancies, those spots could go to other children from the county or outside, with the possibility of a lottery being used to select students.

If a location for the new school is found, as well as sufficient funding, the school could open by fall 2020. Rountree would serve as the director of the new school and would bring her leadership team from Capitol to Capstone. If or when the new charter school opens, Capitol would become a prekindergarten school.

A divided issue

While a charter school is classified as a public school, following state mandates and testing, what makes it different from a typical public school is how it is separated from the city school system. A charter school can receive public money through the cities they operate in, but they work outside of the already-existing school system and are maintained through contracts with the state.

Rountree said the next step toward making the school happen is writing up a contract with the state.

"We have 60 days to draw up a contract with them to tell them what we are going to do and what they’re going to do," she said. "We have to agree to a charter and their two big things are they want the school to be audited every year and they want the students tested by the tests they say."

Mac Buttram, chairman of the Alabama Charter School Commission, said Rountree and her leadership team presented information that checked all the boxes for him and the commission.

"When the commission looks at charter schools, primarily, we look at the educational plan, leadership and finances," Buttram said. "If they are in place and strong, they are indicative of the high charter school.

"We felt from the review of the information that was submitted that those things are going to be in place."

Rountree said one challenging aspect of creating a charter school was to bring in everything that has made Capitol School successful, but to make it available to all children at no charge. The annual cost of tuition at the Capitol School, which has a little more than 100 students from kindergarten to 12th grade enrolled, costs upward of $9,000 per year.

"It’s always been a dream that we could offer this to every child and not just the child whose family who could afford $10,000-a-year tuition," she said.

In addition to offering classes involving different subjects like music, languages and art, Captsone is also seeking gain to STEM accreditation and will offere dual enrollment through the University of Alabama's Early College. There are also plans to include career technical education classes for students to learn about different trades.

Opinions about charter schools are divided between those who feel they offer something that normal public schools don’t while others, especially those who work in public school systems, feel they take money away from other schools that need more resources. In addition, statistics on the effectiveness of charter schools are not uniform, varying from school to school based on the laws each state has for their respective schools.

In a 2010 report by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, an evaluation of 36 charter middle school in 15 states showed that, on average charter middle schools that held lotteries were "neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving math or reading test scores, attendance, grade promotion, or student conduct within or outside of school."

Ashley McLain, public relations manager for the Alabama Education Association, said the AEA would be watching Capstone to see how it would perform. In the past, members of the AEA have expressed their disapproval of charter schools. Last year, the group filed a lawsuit against the ACSC and LEAD Academy, a charter school that was starting up in Montgomery, questioning its legitimacy and how its charter was approved.

"Honestly, we don’t take a stance overall," McLain said. "We look at them on a case-by-case, school-by-school basis."

If the school ultimately gets started, Tuscaloosa City Schools would be the first to be affected because of enrollment being open to students living in Tuscaloosa. Mike Daria, superintendent for TCS, said his priority is on his own school system.

"I am an advocate of keeping public dollars in public schools," Daria said. "I believe in public schools and that they are doing what they need to do."

In addition, Daria said making TCS a premier school system and ensuring positive results for all students would ultimately serve the community,.

"While I’m not necessarily on the advocacy for charters schools, the best way to respond is to keep getting better," he said. "When our students are highly successful and our parents are engaged in us, there won’t be a desire to look outside the school system."

However, Buttram remains convinced that charter schools provide another substantive option for children.

"Charter schools tend to have innovation in classrooms where teachers are encouraged to be innovative in their approach to teaching," Buttram said. "That happens in public education, for sure, but sometimes, charter schools have more flexibility in how the teachers are held accountable.

"Charter schools have the ability to offer more opportunities for children, I believe, and more expectations."

Rountree said there will be a foundation set up soon to start receiving donations and that the school will be seeking public grants to get started. According to Rountree, it would likely cost between $3 million and $5 million to get the school started. In addition, she and her staff are scouting out different locations in downtown Tuscaloosa to place the school.

A website for the new school will soon be online.

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.