No charter school applicants as state tweaks cap

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — No new charter schools will open in Maine this school year or next year.

Nearly 2,000 students attend nine charter schools in the state. There's room for one more, but it hasn't heard from any contenders.

A 2011 law said Maine can only approve 10 charter schools until 2022. The $7.1 billion, two-year budget passed in July changed that law to allow up to 10 charter schools at a time. That means Maine can approve new schools to fill slots left open by shuttered charter schools.

Maine charter schools report waitlists of interested families, while few potential schools express interest in applying.

Andrea Faurot hopes to start a charter school in eastern Maine and said securing start-up funds are a challenge.