§302B-8  Charter school administrative
office.  (a)  There is established a charter school administrative office,
which shall be attached to the department for administrative purposes only. 
The office shall be administered by an executive director, who shall be
appointed without regard to chapters 76 and 89 by the panel based upon the
recommendations of an organization of charter schools operating within the
State or from a list of nominees submitted by the charter schools.  The panel
shall hire the executive director, who may be contracted for a term of up to
four years; shall offer the executive director a written contract; and may
terminate the executive director's contract only for cause.  The executive
director, with the approval of the panel, may hire necessary staff without
regard to chapters 76 and 89 to assist in the administration of the office.



(b)  The executive director, under the
direction of the panel and in consultation with the charter schools, shall be
responsible for the internal organization, operation, and management of the
charter school system, including:



(1)  Preparing and executing the budget and the
capital improvement projects request for the charter schools, including
submission of the all means of finance budget request that reflects all
anticipated expenditures to the panel, the board, the governor, and the
legislature; provided that, in preparing the budget request with regard to
facilities funding, the executive director shall ensure that, as a budget item
separate from other operating costs, the request provides:



(A)  Funding for projected enrollment for the
next school year for each charter school;



(B)  A calculation showing the per-pupil
funding based on the department of budget and finance's debt service
appropriation for the department of education divided by the department of
education's actual enrollment that school year; and



(C)  That no less than seventy per cent of the
amount appropriated shall be allocated by the office to start-up charter
schools on a per-pupil basis; provided that the funds remaining shall be
allocated to charter schools with facilities needs as recommended by the office
and approved by the panel;



(2)  Allocating annual appropriations to the charter
schools and distribution of federal funds to charter schools;



(3)  Complying with applicable state laws related to
the administration of the charter schools;



(4)  Preparing contracts between the charter schools
and the department for centralized services to be provided by the department;



(5)  Preparing contracts between the charter schools
and other state agencies for financial or personnel services to be provided by
the agencies to the charter schools;



(6)  Providing independent analysis and
recommendations on charter school issues;



(7)  Representing charter schools and the charter
school system in communications with the board, the governor, and the
legislature;



(8)  Providing advocacy, assistance, and support for
the development, growth, progress, and success of charter schools and the
charter school system;



(9)  Providing guidance and assistance to charter
applicants and charter schools to enhance the completeness and accuracy of
information for panel review;



(10)  Assisting charter applicants and charter schools
in coordinating their interactions with the panel as needed;



(11)  Assisting the panel to coordinate with charter
schools in panel investigations and evaluations of charter schools;



(12)  Serving as the conduit to disseminate
communications from the panel, the board, and the department to all charter
schools;



(13)  Determining charter school system needs and
communicating those needs to the panel, the board, and the department;



(14)  Establishing a dispute resolution and mediation
process; and



(15)  Upon request by one or more charter schools, assisting
in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement with the exclusive
representative of its employees.



(c)  The executive director shall be evaluated
annually by the panel.  The annual evaluation shall be conducted sufficiently
in advance of the end of a term to provide the executive director the
opportunity to respond to concerns and improve performance.



(d)  The salary of the executive director and
staff shall be set by the panel based upon the recommendations of charter
schools within the State; provided that the salaries and operational expenses
of the office shall be paid from the annual charter school appropriation and
shall not exceed two per cent of the total general fund allocation at an amount
to be determined annually by the panel.



(e)  The office shall include in its annual
budget request additional funds to cover the estimated costs of:



(1)  Vacation and sick leave accrued by employees
transferring to a charter school from another state agency or department;



(2)  Substitute teachers needed when a teacher is out
on vacation or sick leave;



(3)  Adjustments to enrollments; and



(4)  Arbitration in the grievance process.



(f)  The office shall withhold funds for
charter school enrollments that are inconsistent with approved detailed implementation
plans.



(g)  The office shall withhold funds to repay
overpayments or over-allocations received by charter schools when not repaid in
a timely manner in accordance with rules adopted by the board.



(h)  The office may carry over funds from previous
year allocations.  Funds distributed to charter schools shall be considered
expended. [L 2006, c 298, pt of §2; am L 2007, c 115, §11; am L 2009, c 86, §4]