In order to have two new schools up and running by the 2008-09 school year, school officials will need teachers, books, students and -- oh yeah -- a place to call home.

Rockwell Charter High School in the Eagle Mountain area and Merit College Preparatory Academy in Springville each received green lights last week from the state Board of Education to begin preparing for class.

"One reason we didn't get the land first was because we didn't know if we were going to be approved," said Redge Hudson, the president of Rockwell Charter High School. In the next few months, he said they will be busy trying to get everything that it takes to run a charter school, including a location, teachers and students.

"Being out where we are [Eagle Mountain], we don't think we'll have any problems filling the school," he said.

Jenni Theobald, the chairwoman of the board of directors at Merit College Preparatory Academy, also believes there will be no problem with finding students to attend the school.

"The area [Springville] is growing so fast," Theobald said of Nebo School District, which is growing by nearly 1,000 students a year. MCPA is hiring a director for the school, finding land and preparing its physical facilities.

The school will have everything from foreign language classes in Arabic and Chinese to opportunities for students to create, manage and run their own small businesses in what will be known as the Merit Mall.

Charter schools are part of the public school system, but unlike traditional public schools, they have a cap on the number of students who can enroll and also have more freedom to govern themselves. Many charter schools choose to specialize in a particular area, such as arts, science or curriculum, and can enroll students without boundary limits.

Members of the boards of trustees for both schools have been involved with charter schools in the past.

Stephanie Colson and Hudson sit on the Ranches Academy School Council as board president and board vice president. Michael Griffiths, Reagan Academy's former chief financial officer, and Theobald, the curriculum trustee for Reagan Academy in Springville, also will be working with Merit College.

There are four other charter high schools in Utah County: American Leadership Academy in Spanish Fork; Walden School of Liberal Arts in Provo; Utah County Academy of Sciences in Orem; and Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon.

The state Legislature approved a 5,000-student increase for charter schools earlier this year. In the 2008-09 school year, there could be as many as 32,971 charter school students in Utah. Five other charter schools around the state were approved this month by the state Board of Education.

Although it may seem like school officials will have to rush, Marlies Burns, the state charter school director for the state Office of Education, said plans for some of the new schools have been in the works for a long time.

June was the soonest that the board could approve them after changes were made in this year's Legislative season allowing additional students to enroll in charter schools.

"It's going to be difficult to have a school ready in a year, but it isn't impossible," Burns said.

Brooke Barker can be reached at 344-2559 or bbarker@heraldextra.com.

New Utah County charter schools for 2008-09 school year:

Merit College Preparatory Academy

Grades: 9-12

Location: Springville

Ultimate enrollment: 600

www.meritacademy.org

Rockwell Charter High School

Grades: 9-12

Location: Saratoga Springs

Ultimate enrollment: 600

www.theranchesacademy.com/RockwellMain.html

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.