Charter bus

Two charter schools that plan to offer Mandarin immersion programs at the elementary level may be drawing students - and funding - from the Millburn public school system in the near future.

Superintendent of Schools James Crisfield said at the April 11 Board of Education meeting that the New Jersey Department of Education has received application for the two charter schools. The schools would pull students from the Millburn, South Orange-Maplewood and West Orange districts.

"This is a complicated issue," he said. "We should all understand the impact."

Crisfield said the way charter schools are funded could have big implications for Millburn's budget. Millburn would pay 90 percent of the per-pupil cost of each student attending the school. There is supposed to be a cost reduction to compensate, but this is not always the reality.

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