On Dec. 13, the board voted to lease a vacant elementary-school building to a start-up private school, the Columbia County Christian School.

That vote came just two days prior to a public hearing on the merits of an application by another possible tenant for the building, the Arthur Academy.

Arthur, which operates publicly funded charter schools in the David Douglas, Reynolds and Woodburn districts (see "Failing the Logic Test," WW, Dec. 10, 2003), first contacted St. Helens officials about the building last May, according to Mindy Sass, a parent and supporter of the proposal.

Arthur hoped to replicate the success it has had elsewhere with intensive reading and math instruction and to reduce the burden on St. Helens' existing public elementary school.

After discussions with district officials, Arthur submitted an application, which St. Helens curriculum director Garry Dudley says is "very solid. My recommendation is that the board accept it."

But before the board could rule on the application, it agreed to lease the building to Columbia Christian, a start-up with no operating history.

That decision stunned parents such as Sass and longtime charter-school proponents, such as Rob Kremer, who helped prepare Arthur's application.

"The first and best use of a public school facility is to teach public school students," Kremer says. "That should be obvious to people entrusted with public school assets."

Board chairman Nathan Helwig acknowledges Kremer's concerns but says the Christian academy approached the district first and seemed willing to pay more. (Kremer disputes the latter point, saying Arthur would have matched the private school's offer if given a chance.)

Sass adds that there was no reason for the board to lease the building prior to Arthur's hearing. In fact, she says, many expected a discussion about the building to come in January, when the district will unveil a 20-year plan. "It makes me question their support of public schools," Sass says.