Local Charter School Purchases New Building

After teaching students for nearly three years, the Monticello Montessori Charter School in Ammon has a building of their own, with help from the government.

When Monticello Montessori Charter School opened its doors almost three years ago, finding a building to house students and teachers was the first step. Thanks to local business, Dome Technology, a modern and sustainable building was provided to them.

“We [Dome Technology] had heard that there was a group looking to start a charter school,” said Daren Wheeler, project administrator at Dome Technology. “The owners of Dome Tech have always been sympathetic to the charter school plight, where they can’t get bonding for their facilities.”

As part of an initiative to help rural communities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $45 million to communities around the country for facility projects. $1.2 million of that went directly to this Ammon charter school.

“We’ve been seeking financing to purchase the land and the building from Dome Technology and we’ve finally been able to do that through USDA,” said Dave Meyer, school administrator.

While the majority of the money will go toward paying for ownership of the building, school officials said the rest will go toward remodeling the classrooms and making them ADA compliant.

“They [charter schools] don’t have the ability to participate in bond or levies that the school district passes, so that is a challenge,” said Meyer. “We were lucky that Dome Technology was willing to build this facility for us.”

Monticello Montessori offers classes from kindergarten to sixth grade and is currently accepting enrollment for the fall.