Supporters of the Research Triangle High School say it will help meet a growing demand for science and technology education. Opponents say it will hurt a district already struggling.

The State Board of Education approved new schools in Durham, Orange and Wake counties, along with six others Thursday. They are the first approved since the General Assembly lifted a 100-school cap on charter schools last year.

Research Triangle High School will focus on hands-on learning and a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. It will serve students in ninth through 12th grades.

In Orange County, the Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School will target minority students and focus on closing the achievement gap and preparing students for college. It will open as an elementary school then expand to serve students through eighth grade.

In Wake County, the Triangle Math and Science Academy will also focus on math, science and technology. It will be a kindergarten through 12th grade school.

The nine schools approved were narrowed from 27 applications submitted for fast-track consideration last year. The fast-track process gave each school four months of planning time, instead of 12 months in the regular application process. The new charter schools are scheduled to open in August.

All schools must be open by Aug. 15, or their approval is null and void, said Joel Medley, director for the Office of Charter Schools in the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

The charter school applications in Durham and Orange counties faced strong opposition.

Research Triangle High School will be Durham County's ninth charter school.

Currently, $10.6 million is paid out to charter schools from the county, which is 10 percent of the Durham Public Schools' funding, according to DPS spokesman Jeff Nash.

Charter schools are subject to state rules and receive public money for each student they enroll, but they are not accountable to the school board or county leaders. The schools are free to students, but vary on whether they provide programs such as reduced lunches and transportation offered to low-income students.

Existing STEM schools in Durham have huge waiting lists, said Pamela Blizzard, executive director of the Contemporary Science Center, the nonprofit that filed the Research Triangle High School application.

"What's going to be unique about ours is it's going to be in the midst of Research Triangle Park," she said of the school, planned for a yet to be announced location on N.C. 54 between Page Road and Davis Drive. "We're creating a porous wall between education and all the industry that surrounds the school."

Ultimately the school wants to create a model for STEM education and increase access for students and teachers all around over the state, she said. "Everything we're doing in the school, we're thinking how can we share this with others elsewhere?"

The Research Triangle school comes at a time when the district is already struggling to make up for state funding cuts.

Durham Public Schools has the highest percentage of students on free or reduced lunch, highest percentage of minority students and English language learners, DPS school board member Beyer said.

And because Durham spends more per student than Wake County, it will continue to become a magnet for charter schools, she said.

"The cap has kind of buffered this discussion, but now that the cap has been lifted, the flood gates are open and more and more of these schools are going to try to come," she said. "Rather than collaborate, they are competing for easy-to-educate students and it comes at a time when the state continues to decrease support for public education, so it's a double hit."

The new school also complicates the district's long-term planning for new facilities with the city and county, she said.

"The charter schools have exploded so fast and have been allowed to expand so quickly that some of our facilities plans...are in question and it's been difficult io plan and use fiscal resources wisely."

The Durham County commissioners passed a resolution opposing the new charter school in February and this week passed another one asking the state to freeze applications on new charter schools until they are required to provide transportation and free meals for low-income students.

The resolution also asks the state board to require all charter schools to submit to county commissioners an annual report outlining student body profiles, educational achievement during the previous year, and innovative educational practices.

In a letter to the editor in the News &Observer Wednesday, Durham school board members Frederick Davis and Leigh Bordley wrote that charter schools are creating an "unlevel" playing field by siphoning off higher-achieving students and competing with the district for money, for which it is not held accountable.

Charters in Durham serve 37 percent high-poverty students, while DPS serves 63 percent, they wrote.

"Of the eight charter schools in Durham, only two provide transportation and only four provide lunch. The proposed Research Triangle High School application contains exclusionary barriers and will not serve a diverse student population."

Research Triangle High School will enroll 480 students, according to its application. Charter schools in Durham gets close to $3,000 per pupil, Beyer said, which translates to $1.44 million in public money going to the new school.

It will offer free and reduced lunch for students who need it and a bus pass for all families, Blizzard said.

The high school will have an extended school day and offer opportunities for students to learn from digital lectures

According to its website, the school will be a "place where students learn by an innovative blend of digital and experiential methods, in order to develop into mature, sophisticated thinkers and doers."

Students will also have the opportunity to intern with companies in Research Triangle Park and collaborate on projects with employees from RTP firms.