§302B-8  Charter school administrativeoffice.  (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 beappointed without regard to chapters 76 and 89 by the panel based upon therecommendations of an organization of charter schools operating within theState or from a list of nominees submitted by the charter schools.  The panelshall hire the executive director, who may be contracted for a term of up tofour years; shall offer the executive director a written contract; and mayterminate the executive director's contract only for cause.  The executivedirector, with the approval of the panel, may hire necessary staff withoutregard to chapters 76 and 89 to assist in the administration of the office.

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

(1)  Preparing and executing the budget and thecapital improvement projects request for the charter schools, includingsubmission of the all means of finance budget request that reflects allanticipated expenditures to the panel, the board, the governor, and thelegislature; provided that, in preparing the budget request with regard tofacilities funding, the executive director shall ensure that, as a budget itemseparate from other operating costs, the request provides:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(6)  Providing independent analysis andrecommendations on charter school issues;

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

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

(9)  Providing guidance and assistance to charterapplicants and charter schools to enhance the completeness and accuracy ofinformation for panel review;

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

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

(12)  Serving as the conduit to disseminatecommunications from the panel, the board, and the department to all charterschools;

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

(14)  Establishing a dispute resolution and mediationprocess; and

(15)  Upon request by one or more charter schools, assistingin the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement with the exclusiverepresentative of its employees.

(c)  The executive director shall be evaluatedannually by the panel.  The annual evaluation shall be conducted sufficientlyin advance of the end of a term to provide the executive director theopportunity to respond to concerns and improve performance.

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

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

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

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

(3)  Adjustments to enrollments; and

(4)  Arbitration in the grievance process.

(f)  The office shall withhold funds forcharter school enrollments that are inconsistent with approved detailed implementationplans.

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

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