§302B-8 Charter school administrative office. (a) There is established a charter school administrative office, which shall be attached to the department for administrative purposes only. The office shall be administered by an executive director, who shall be appointed without regard to chapters 76 and 89 by the panel based upon the recommendations of an organization of charter schools operating within the state or from a list of nominees submitted by the charter schools. The panel shall hire the executive director who may be contracted for a term of up to four years; shall offer the executive director a written contract; and may terminate the executive director's contract only for cause. The executive director, with the approval of the panel, may hire necessary staff without regard to chapters 76 and 89 to assist in the administration of the office.

(b) The executive director, under the direction of the panel and in consultation with the charter schools, shall be responsible for the internal organization, operation, and management of the charter school system, including:

(1) Preparing and executing the budget for the charter schools, including submission of the budget request to the board, the governor, and the legislature;

(2) Allocating annual appropriations to the charter schools and distribution of federal funds to charter schools;

(3) Complying with applicable state laws related to the administration of the charter schools;

(4) Preparing contracts between the charter schools and the department for centralized services to be provided by the department;

(5) Preparing contracts between the charter schools and other state agencies for financial or personnel services to be provided by the agencies to the charter schools;

(6) Providing independent analysis and recommendations on charter school issues;

(7) Representing charter schools and the charter school system in communications with the board, the governor, and the legislature;

(8) Providing advocacy, assistance, and support for the development, growth, progress, and success of charter schools and the charter school system;

(9) Providing guidance and assistance to charter applicants and charter schools to enhance the completeness and accuracy of information for panel review;

(10) Assisting charter applicants and charter schools in coordinating their interactions with the panel as needed;

(11) Assisting the panel to coordinate with charter schools in panel investigations and evaluations of charter schools;

(12) Serving as the conduit to disseminate communications from the panel, the board, and the department to all charter schools;

(13) Determining charter school system needs and communicating those needs to the panel, the board, and the department;

(14) Establishing a dispute resolution and mediation process; and

(15) Upon request by one or more charter schools, assisting in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement with the exclusive representative of its employees.

(c) The executive director shall be evaluated annually by the panel. The annual evaluation shall be conducted sufficiently in advance of the end of a term to provide the executive director the opportunity to respond to concerns and improve performance.

(d) The salary of the executive director and staff shall be set by the panel based upon the recommendations of charter schools within the state; provided that the salaries and operational expenses of the office shall be paid from the annual charter school appropriation and shall not exceed two per cent of the total allocation in any fiscal year.

(e) The office shall include in its annual budget request additional funds to cover the estimated costs of:

(1) Vacation and sick leave accrued by employees transferring to a charter school from another state agency or department;

(2) Substitute teachers needed when a teacher is out on vacation or sick leave;

(3) Adjustments to enrollments; and

(4) Arbitration in the grievance process.

(f) The office shall withhold funds for charter school enrollments that are inconsistent with approved detailed implementation plans.

(g) The office shall withhold funds to repay overpayments or over-allocations received by charter schools when not repaid in a timely manner in accordance with rules adopted by the board.

(h) The office may carry over funds from previous year allocations. Funds distributed to charter schools shall be considered expended.