City directs $1 million to charter schools

Dixon designates funds for facilities

Kramer said the school needs more space to accommodate new students, including, he hopes, a pre-K program that could start on the next few years. Kramer said he has personal reasons for pushing for the pre-K program: His wife is expecting a baby in June. "I have someone at home who is lobbying pretty hard," he said, laughing.

Kramer said the school has an enrollment of about 460 children, from kindergarten to sixth grade, but he hopes to expand the enrollment to 550 in the near future. Classes for students in seventh and eighth grades could also be added.

The Northwood Appold Community Academy received a grant worth $117,500 for improvements to the school's restrooms and heating and air-conditioning system, said school founder Cecil C. Gray. "We're glad about it," he said of the grant.

Gray and his wife, Sonya Hunt Gray, who is vice president of the school's board, also attended the ribbon cutting at Patterson Park Public Charter School, at 27 N. Lakewood Ave. "It's an exciting time," said Sonya Hunt Gray.

Dixon said that by supporting charter schools, the city is also contributing to the education of future leaders. She said that besides great teachers and curriculum, all schools must also have first-class facilities. "You are the most important people in our lives," she said to the schoolchildren who attended the ribbon cutting. "It is our responsibility to make your lives better than ours."

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