By GORDON D. KING

Staff Writer

FRANKLIN — A group exploring charter schools is going to propose that an alternate school be developed to help at-risk students who might otherwise dropout.

The group’s findings and proposal will be announced next week.

William Grimm, who received a $10,000 federal grant for the planning and development of the Franklin Career Academy, said a steering committee has been studying charter schools for the past six months.

The group’s findings and a proposal for a charter school will be released on Wednesday evening when members meet with Department of Education Commissioner Nicholas C. Donohue.

Grimm, who is project director, said the charter school is being designed to target students who are at-risk of dropping out of high school because they do not do well there.

Although Grimm is a member of the school board, he applied for the grant on his own. The board as a whole has not taken a position on a charter school.

The proposal will include the costs to operate the school, the number of students expected to be enrolled and the curriculum, Grimm said.

A charter school proposal has to be approved by the City Council. There will be at least one public hearing before the proposal is sent on to the city council, he said.

Discussions on development of a charter school came to light last year as one option to help reduce the high school dropout rate. Grimm said he sees a charter school as one option to improving the education system and retaining students who might otherwise dropout.

Steering committee members include Dan Fife, Sarah Stanley, Bob Ouellette, David Liberatore, Ken Merrifield, Dawn Liberatore, Dr. Susan Hollins, the Rev. Larry Turns, Rick Silverberg, Superintendent of Schools Robert McKenney, Marcia Feener and Richard Brothers. Mayor Tony Giunta and Tom Clairmont of LRGHealthcare serve as advisory members.

The meeting will be held Wednesday at Thompson Hall on South Main Street starting at 1 p.m.