Charter School In Midville?

Christ the King Regional High School’s administration and board of directors are exploring the potential leasing of space at the Middle Village campus to a charter middle school, the Times Newsweekly has learned.

Plans are far from being concrete, but the school’s ranking membership is examining the viability of leasing out a portion of its campus to a charter school for students from grades six through eight, according to Serphin R. Maltese, former state senator and current chairman of Christ the King’s board of directors.

“It’s not something that’s going to happen tomorrow,” Maltese told the Times Newsweekly in a phone interview, adding that the school itself would not be spearheading the effort to bring a charter school to the campus. Rather, he noted, the school is considering potentially renting the space to an independent organization.

Once a decision is made by Christ the King’s executive members on whether to pursue the charter school idea, he noted, an open meeting will be held among all members of the school community to garner their comment.

“We are going to have a meeting of the entire Christ the King community and parents,” Maltese said. “At that time, we’ll explain where we are with our plans and where we’re going.”

Should the school decide to move forward with the charter school plan, the earliest that one could be established on the campus would be September 2013, he added.

The topic was broached among members of Community Board 5 during their Oct. 12 meeting at Christ the King High School. Patricia Grayson, chairperson of the Executive Committee, told the audience that the panel would meet to consider the proposal and its potential impact on the community.