In a move that left school district officials and audience members shaking their heads Monday night, the Lebanon School Board voted to accept an amended contract for Sand Ridge Charter School written by board member Josh Wineteer. When the vote was taken, board members had seen only the amendments and not the full contract.

Wineteer cited his disagreement with the district's counter offer to a proposed contract put forth by People Involved in Education (PIE) in March as the reason he wrote a contract amendment.

The district proposal would have eliminated Sand Ridge grades 9-12 and increased the K-8 enrollment cap.

"No one on this board ever agreed to that," Wineteer said.

The district and PIE have been negotiating on a new contract since the board voted to renew Sand Ridge's charter on Dec. 3. The school's current contract expires June 30. Teachers and students at the charter school are worried about the future of the school, said Wineteer, whose daughter attends first grade at Sand Ridge.

Wineteer said he did not discuss the amendments with Robinson or other board members beforehand, but did consult with Jay Jackson, PIE President.

Robinson warned the board that Wineteer's proposal to increase the amount of funding Sand Ridge receives and to increase its enrollment cap would mean budget cuts from other district schools.

The superintendent urged the board to give the amendments to the district's legal counsel, Paul Dakapolis, for review and incorporation into a draft contract Dakapolis is preparing.

"It's not in keeping with best form to have two voices speaking for the district," Robinson said.

The superintendent also recommended the board not make a decision until next month, after the Budget Committee has decided how to deal with an expected $1.9 million revenue shortfall next year.

"Don't give away the farm, you don't have the money to pay for it," Robinson cautioned.

Board chair Sherrie Sprenger and board vice chair Chris Fisher both questioned the wisdom of voting on contract amendments that they were seeing for the first time and before the district had the opportunity to asses the financial and legal ramifications.

Wineteer said all the amendments in his proposal had been discussed at length in previous meetings and negotiations with PIE.

The only modification to Wineteer's amendments were by Shimmin, who wanted to keep Sand Ridge's current enrollment cap of 280 and not allow an additional 18 student increase per year, which the board agreed to.

Among the amendments, the boards accepted were the following:

• Removal of the prohibition on PIE starting other private or charter schools.

• An increase in the percentage of state school funds that Sand Ridge receives from the district from 80 to 85 percent for grades K-8 if the school meets prescribed conditions.

• The new contract runs from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2013.

The amended contract passed by a 3-2 vote with Sprenger and Fisher voting no.

Jackson said the new contract does not contain everything PIE wanted, but if his board accepted it, they would at least have assurance that Sand Ridge will be operational next year.

He said the biggest headache would be disallowing the additional 18 student yearly increase that is in the current contract. The number of Sand Ridge kindergartners entering first-grade every year has made the increase necessary.

"We have to decide which families we have to tell 'you can't stay in this school, or you can't come to this school," Jackson said.

The PIE board was scheduled to vote on the amended contract on Tuesday night, after press time.