Pub. 8 2018-2019 Issue 2

11 But throwing a wrench into a century-old public educa- tion system didn’t come with a lot of guidelines, especially when it came to money. As the new business manager of City Academy, Steve was tasked with billing the local district for promised funds to cover the school’s costs. He was constantly stressed: “As business manager I didn’t know if I could pay everybody. I mean, we managed to do it, but it was just by the skin of our teeth.” The lack of logistical infrastructure made for tense rela- tionships between districts and charter schools. When Steve remembers that first year, he remembers sitting for hours in a district office, waiting for a check that no one wanted to give him. He would sometimes have to drive up to the state offices and basically beg for help in getting the money. Someone at the state office would then call the district’s business manager and convince them that the money really did have to go to the charter school. It was a tiring and frustrating cycle. But even in the midst of some unfortunately nasty encounters, Steve built relationships with those on “the other side” of the charter school debate. He reminisces that “a lot of those people were really wonderful, no matter what their personal feelings were.” City Academy had it’s bumps and bruises, but the leader- ship was prepared and wholly devoted to serving kids. The school’s model was and is very cooperative, requiring all hands on deck. Steve remembers that “all the adults were engaged in how the school worked – even the janitor, if we’d had one. I was the business manager, and even I had a group of kids it was my job to help guide. I would check to see how they all were doing, and work with these kids individually and with their parents.” But even with good things happening within school walls, it quickly became clear that the new charter schools needed help with many big questions. The founders of the original schools began to meet together regularly to share informa- tion and tips they’d picked up along the way, soon becoming a recognized association. Steve played a leadership role and felt that the purpose of the association was to give the next generations of charter schools the help they needed to be suc- cessful. He began creating programs and securing the funds to offer formal trainings. Over the years Steve has gone on to offer his knowledge and support to anyone that needs it. He found time to be involved with two additional schools beyond City Academy: Esperanza Elementary, a school dedicating to giving Hispanic children and their families the tools for academic success; and Utah International Charter School, a school focused on serving those students from immigrant and refugee families. “With a charter school,” Steve explains, “you don’t do it unless you’re really committed. You’ve got to be committed because it’s an uphill struggle. You’ve got to do it out of love and out of dedication because it’s a cool thing for kids. There’s an energy to it that’s just amazing no matter what.” “As business manager I didn’t know if I could pay everybody. I mean, we managed to do it, but it was just by the skin of our teeth.”