Board directs counsel to draft 5-year renewal for SLCCC while delaying 6–8 decision until G5 review

Representatives of the Salt Lake Center for Science Education (SlickC) returned to the board on April 14 seeking guidance on whether the charter renewal should include a phased return to sixth through eighth grades beginning in 2027. The school dvocate described research and internal data indicating earlier entry into the program correlates with better long‑term outcomes and argued a sixth‑grade cohort could improve retention and bring out‑of‑district students back to the Salt Lake City district.

Board members debated operational and fiscal tradeoffs while noting the district faces declining enrollment and pending grade‑configuration (G5) discussions. Several trustees suggested that amending the charter later would be prudent and that the charter renewal itself should proceed on a customary multi‑year term to provide stability to the school. Board member Ashley Anderson moved that counsel draft a five‑year renewal for grades 9–12 and that leadership calendar reconsideration of a 6–8 expansion in April 2027 tied to any G5 outcomes; the motion passed.

Finance staff presented an analysis showing past middle‑school enrollment that fed SlickC would correspond to an estimated loss in district minimum‑school funding if all those students attended the charter instead; staff emphasized the difficulty of projecting how many of those students would return. The board instructed counsel to prepare renewal and lease documents for future review and directed staff to bring the matter back for more detailed fiscal and facility alignment.