COLUMBUS — Charter schools would get first chance to buy old school buildings put up for sale by public school districts, under a proposal backed by Republican lawmakers.

        Democrats criticized the proposal, saying it takes property decisions out of the local community's hands.

        Urban districts that are losing students have empty school buildings that they're reluctant to sell to charter schools because they're opposed to the concept, said Rep. Jon Husted, a Kettering Republican.

        “If public schools have already been funded with public dollars, they should at least give other public schools an opportunity to use them for charter schools,” Mr. Husted said. “There isn't a robust marketplace for those facilities, and what we're trying to do is just give those schools a chance.”

        The proposal was added to the state's two-year $45 billion budget. Gov. Bob Taft is expected to sign the bill this week.

        The state's largest non-Internet charter school, Eagle Heights Academy in Youngstown, would like to expand by buying one of several school buildings there that are expected to be sold as part of that district's $163 million school rebuilding project.

        Youngstown school board President John Maluso — who once said he would tear a building down before selling it to a charter school — said he doesn't believe charter schools should be allowed to buy the buildings.

        Until state law changes, “I will still not sell it to them even if it lies there empty,” he said.

        Mr. Maluso said he disagrees with the charter school movement, accusing it of allowing a parallel school system that doesn't have to adhere to the same rules and regulations of traditional public schools.

        Charter schools — called community schools in Ohio — are publicly funded but privately run and free from some state regulations. They receive basic state aid and limited startup money. Ohio has 17,000 students in 68 charter schools.

        Ronald King, Eagle Heights treasurer, said the school would like to buy nearby Cleveland Elementary school if it is offered for sale. It would allow the K-8 charter school, with more than 800 students, to make room for older students in its current building, he said.

        “To tear down a building that's quite usable I think is doing damage to the neighborhood and to the taxpayers of Youngstown,” Mr. King said. “We'd be more than willing to pay a reasonable price for a building to maintain the attractiveness of a building in the neighborhood. We always think that's a positive.”

        Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Cleveland Democrat, said school buildings aren't state property, and were built years ago with local taxpayer dollars.

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