Cash Calamity

Charter schools and public school divided on Harrington proposal

Senate Bill 8 first came on the scene to get rid of a cap that limited the number of charter schools to 100. North Carolina has 99 charter schools. Gaston County has three — Piedmont Community Charter, Highland Charter Public School and Mountain Island Charter School. But what started out as a bill to allow more schools now includes revisions that could affect how charter schools grow, where they receive funding and who watches over them.