College's Chartering of Schools Upsets Cap in Michigan

By Bess Keller

In the politically charged atmosphere of the Michigan charter school movement, a tiny college run by American Indian tribes is defending its decision to authorize two of the independent public schools.

The move took some people by surprise because Gov. John Engler's high-profile effort to lift an existing cap on the total number of schools that can be chartered by Michigan universities has stalled through two legislative sessions, and the other routes to charters have largely been blocked.

But in January, Bay Mills Community College in Michigan's rural Upper Peninsula seemed to break the deadlock by chartering two schools to be run by New York City- based Mosaica Education Co. Neither school when it opens next fall—one near Bay City, Mich., and the other in Pontiac—would be near the college. Because of legislation that in effect singles out Bay Mills, there appear to be no legal limits on how many more schools...