MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first public charter school in the state, Morgantown-based West Virginia Academy, is in its third year of operation with an enrollment of about 250 students.

Academy Chairman John Treu said over the three years of operation finding quality teachers to work with their students has not been as difficult as they thought.

“They’re very excited about operating in a charter model where they have an individualized education plan that helps each student and helps them at their level,” Treu said this week on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “So, we’ve been able to find really good teachers and we’ve been happy with the teachers we’ve brought in.”

One problem they have encountered is keeping teachers or staff. Treu said Monongalia County Schools are able to offer more compensation and hired about 20 percent of the WVA workforce during the opening weeks of the school year.

Treu said state law does not allow them to benefit from some sources of funding like federal sources, a levy, and property taxes, and they do not have the ability to sell bonds to raise funds.

“Traditional public schools and charter schools are competing with different amounts of revenue and funding,” Treu said. “We really think our students are just as important as any other student, and we’re working with legislators to make sure that happens.”

Treu said despite a significant funding disadvantage, they were a finalist for the Yass Prize, considered to be the Pulitzer Prize of the education world. Treu hopes Gov. Patrick Morrisey will take steps in the area of school choice that could even the playing field in terms of funding between traditional public schools and charter schools.

“For Monongalia County Schools this category of funding accounts for about 44 percent of their total budget,” Treu said. “So, we get some of that funding but not all, and we end up with about a 30 to 40 percent funding gap with traditional public schools.”

Treu said there have been several accomplishments in three years.

Sophomores and juniors at the school all qualify for the West Virginia University Dual Credit Program with a 3.0 grade point average and all participate. The students averaged a 3.85 taking college-level classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays while completing traditional lessons on the other three days of the week.

One of the more popular offerings is the “garage band” program, according to Treu. The WVA Trail Blazers also offer competitive teams in cross country, volleyball, track, basketball and golf.

“The basic instruments that are played in a garage band are the guitar, bass, drums, singing, keyboards, and the synthesizer,” Treu said. “We’ve been growing that program and seeking grants to grow it, and we also have a program aligned with it that does bluegrass and Appalachian music.”

The WVA operates from a former WVU facility at 763 Chestnut Ridge Road referred to as the Suncrest Campus, and a second campus in the Cheat Lake area is under development. The Falling Waters Campus will be built on 19.2 acres and will not be a typical public school building. The wooded setting offers complete views of Cheat Lake from the campus.

“Our approach will be quite a bit different,” Treu said. “We’re going to work with the land that is there, and much of the campus will remain forested, and we’ll build a trail system through it to support the running and biking programs that we are launching and engaged in.”