The Redmond School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to renew a contract with Redmond Proficiency Academy another five years.

The grades six-through-12 charter school just finished its fourth year of the original five-year contract; the new agreement will begin with the 2014-15 school year.

“It’s with a clear conscience and a happy heart that I recommend approval of this contract,” said Redmond School District Superintendent Mike McIntosh before the vote.

He and RPA Director Jon Bullock have been in discussions regarding the contract for some time and decided that it would be best for planning purposes to consider the renewal now, McIntosh said.

As an independent charter school, RPA has its own board of directors and budget but operates under a charter agreement with the Redmond district.

State funds for RPA are funneled through the Redmond district, which keeps 5 percent to cover administrative costs.

During the 2012-13 school year, 525 students who live within the Redmond School District attended RPA. Of those, 160 were enrolled in grades 6-8. The school opened in 2009, limited to only 250 Redmond-area students at first, with escalations of that number as time went on.

The number of former Redmond district students in RPA has been an issue for the Redmond Education Association, the union representing teachers, over the years. REA has argued the charter school siphons off much-needed resources, in terms of the state funding that comes with each student.

When RPA was first proposed, organizers told the Redmond School Board that it wouldn’t enroll many students out of Redmond schools, but more likely those outside the system: dropouts, home-schooled students, online students and those from outside the district.

Rejecting or failing to renew a charter contract because of concerns about financial impacts on the sponsoring district is not a choice Redmond has, however. State rules are strict regarding the reasons charter agreements can be denied or canceled, including fiscal insolvency, health and safety of students, failure to meet state student performance measures or failure to meet terms of the contract.

There was no testimony during a public hearing at the meeting, but a letter addressed to the board was read from Barry Branaugh, a district teacher and former REA president. Branaugh stated that while he supported RPA, its teachers and students, he felt its inclusion into the community came at a high price, both financially and educationally.

While RPA has lured hundreds of former students from Redmond schools, it’s also attracted teaching staff to its corps, easing the district’s need to cut positions as enrollment declined. Of the 20 teachers currently listed on RPA’s website, nine are former Redmond district teachers as well as an administrator and support staffer.

In comments to the board, Bullock said Oregon law mandates charter schools offer things traditional schools don’t, or can’t, and that is RPA’s mission.

“I think some people misunderstand what we are. Do we have high-fliers? Sure, all schools do. But mostly we have kids who just need something they weren’t getting before. Every year we challenge ourselves to try something new, but in doing that we’ll have some failures. Ultimately, we’re not doing our job if people don’t ask questions,” he said.

According to McIntosh, the lease agreement the district has with RPA for the Hartman school building will be renegotiated as well, but it is a separate matter from the state charter.

“As far as I’m concerned I’m willing to write the lease to be parallel to the charter, for five years, but it would need to have language allowing an early cancellation if the district needed the building,” he said.

As for the particulars of the new contract, McIntosh said outside the meeting that he expected no significant changes, including with the enrollment cap of district students.