The county's first petition for a charter school is set to be reviewed by the Coweta County Board of Education tonight.

The petition, started by a group of parents called Odyssey Charter, would have a new school starting next fall. The school would serve elementary and middle school students in the Thomas Crossroads area, said Coweta director of curriculum Judy Robinson.

The primary difference between a charter school and a regular public school, Robinson said, is that charter schools allow for different types of learning methods.

For instance, state guidelines call for 300 minutes of instruction. But if a charter school administrator feels that the same learning can be achieved in 250 minutes, he is free to use the lower instruction time.

Charter schools still receive public funds and are governed by the local school board, but Robinson said the parents have a far bigger input in charter school operations.

So far, DeKalb County has approved one charter school, but Robinson believes the trickle of charter school applications will start turning into a flood within the next few years.

The charter school group has proposed building the school on a site on Reese Road and having it open for the fall. With the new school year less than four months away, Robinson is skeptical the group could actually have the school built.

If the facility is not completed, the group suggests they could use the abandoned White Oak Learning Center until the new school is built.