The Missouri Board of Education cleared the way Tuesday for a charter school with a STEM focus to open in Columbia.
Frontier STEM Academy, which plans to open in the fall of 2027, would initially serve children from preschool through second grade and add an additional grade per year for at least the next three years.
It would be the first charter school in Boone County, as well as the first beyond St. Louis and Kansas City. The General Assembly passed a law in 2024 that expanded charter schools into Boone County.
According to reports presented Tuesday at the board’s meeting, Frontier’s plan is to start with 40 preschool students, 96 kindergartners, 24 first graders and 24 second graders.
During an earlier step in the process, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommended approval before sending it to the Board of Education. It passed Tuesday with one dissenter.
Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge voted against it, arguing that “the people in Columbia have not voted for this school. I’m troubled when people whose tax dollars are being used to fund this school do not approve or govern that school.”
Columbia Public Schools, which has resisted charter schools since the state law passed to allow them, said it “will continue to fight against the unlawful expansion of charter schools into Boone County.”
A school district representative asked to speak during Tuesday’s board meeting but reported that the request was denied.
In defense of Frontier’s proposal, state board member Brooks Miller Jr. said that the board’s only option was to support the new charter school because it met all designated requirements.
He said it was not the board’s job to decide whether they wanted a new charter school, but to determine whether or not it met the requirements. Striking down the proposal for any other reason would be to “move the goal posts,” Miller said
Since the 2024 state law was passed, two applications have been submitted to start charter schools in Columbia. The other application would be for a charter school dedicated to workforce training for students 17 and older.
Job Point, a long-established career training and employment center in Columbia, submitted the letter of intent and proposal in October. The proposal has since received initial approval from the Missouri Charter School Commission.
Columbia Public Schools filed a lawsuit against the state in December, asking a judge to declare the 2024 law unconstitutional. The district is claiming it is a local law disguised as a statewide mandate.
The circuit court in Cole County has not yet issued a ruling that could prevent Frontier’s plan for a charter school from going forward in Columbia.
Charter schools are independent public schools that allow more flexibility than traditional districts but must still meet state standards. They have legally operated in Missouri since 1998 in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Frontier Schools has been established in Kansas City since 2007 and educates more than 1,500 students in four locations. Charter schools must also have sponsors to monitor student performance and progress. Saint Louis University is the sponsor for the school planned in Columbia.
For many of those opposed to charter schools, funding is a major concern. They are financed by taxpayer dollars, which are allocated after students choose which school to attend. In Boone County, both state and local funding are included in the allocations.
Columbia Public Schools has said that Frontier STEM Academy is projected to take more than $4 million away from the local district in its first year, increasing to over $9 million by its fifth year.
