AUGUSTA — An immigrant from Azerbaijan is proposing a new charter school in Lewiston.

The letter of intent to the Maine Charter School Commission is one of seven new proposals. Applications for schools that want to open in the fall of 2014 are due in December.

The letter of intent for a proposed Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School is from Tarlan Ahmadov of Portland.

The other proposals are for two online schools for grades seven through 12, Maine Virtual Academy and Maine Connections Academy. Also, an Adventures in Learning Academies is being proposed for Portland; two Montessori charter schools are proposed for central Maine and Windham, one of which would be for children in kindergarten through grade six who are deaf or hard of hearing; and an Inspire ME Academy for the Sanford/Springfield area.

Reached at his home Thursday night, Ahmadov offered to answer questions through email. He said he was born in Azerbaijan, a country between Russia and Iran, and he immigrated to the United States more than 10 years ago.

“Maine is my second homeland,” he wrote. “I am so lucky to live in this wonderful and welcoming land.”

Ahmadov has supervised Catholic Charity’s refugee settlement program in Portland.

According to his letter of intent, the Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School would emphasize math and science, but would balance that “with a strong foundation in the humanities.” The school would provide career-oriented college preparation and ensure strong student-teacher-parent collaboration.

The school would open a year from now with 120 students in grades six and seven, and to have 420 students in grades six through 12 when fully operational.

Laws allowing charter schools were passed by the Maine Legislature during Gov. Paul LePage’s administration. State law allows only 10 charter schools in Maine. Because five charter schools are already open, seven proposals will compete for the remaining five slots.

Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of local school districts, offering alternatives for students. The independent schools are funded by state and local taxpayer money, Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster said.

He said the Lewiston School Department spends about $10,000 a year to educate each student. Most of the money comes from the state, he said, and “the state money follows the student,” Webster said.

If a charter school in Lewiston is approved, the school would get the $10,000 per child per year, including about $6,500 from the state and $3,500 from Lewiston taxpayers, Webster said.

Lewiston now has no charter school, but several local students attend charter schools in Portland, Hinckley and Gray, Webster said.

The letter of intent filed with the state “shouldn’t be viewed as an application,” Webster said. The formal application is due in December. The letter of intent has “very basic information. We’ll know a lot more when they submit the application.”

Critics of charter schools say they siphon money away from traditional public schools.

“We are competing for students,” Webster said. “Maine is still grappling with the best way to fund charter schools. Maybe they ought to be all state-funded. That would be less onerous on a community that has the charter school.”

Webster didn’t take a position on the proposed charter school in Lewiston.

It’s important, he said, to provide students with multiple pathways to be successful.

“If there is a charter school that’s providing an opportunity that just doesn’t exist in the public schools, it’s hard to argue against it,” he said. “I would be concerned about a duplication of services or opportunities.”

He will review the formal application when it’s filed, he said.

“It may be an indication of something we are not doing,” he said. “At the end of the day, if the charter school offers something we don’t, we need to look hard at possibly doing something different.”

Webster said he was concerned about virtual charter schools, which so far the state commission has not approved. Online courses are offered at Lewiston High School, Webster said, but he’s opposed to a complete online school.

“A key part of 21st-century skills is that people need to be able to greet people, deal with people, have conversations with people in a real setting,” Webster said.

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