By Karole Honas, Local News 8 Anchor/Reporter

GARDEN CITY - This year marks the 10th anniversary of public charter schools in Idaho. To date, there are 36. After a decade, there are still two sharply divided camps over whether charter schools hurt the traditional public school system. Will the fence ever come down?

ANSER public charter school is one of the first created in Idaho ten years ago. On this anniversary there is much to celebrate.

"Hip! Hip! Hooray! Life is grand!"

It took ten years, but ANSER has finally moved from its location at an old racketball court, to an empty parochial school in Garden City.

"This is my second year here," says Calie, a 13 year old 8th grader at ANSER. "I started coming in 7th grade. You feel closer and you know everyone. You feel like a community, like you can make a difference here."

Her classmate Patrick agrees.

"There's no popular, unpopular, you're just understood, really. "

"It's incredible to see how far charter schools have come," says Suzanne Gregg, ANSER Principal.

"When there's more choices for families it's better," adds administrator Suzanne Burton. "You find your niche, parents find their niche, and they have a choice to attend where they want to send their child."

But opponents of the charter school system say choice is fine, if you can afford it.

"It makes no fiscal sense whatsoever to create new schools when we can't fund the ones that are already existing," Madison School Superintendent Geoffrey Thomas explained. "It makes no fiscal sense whatsoever. "

The superintendent says every school district that has gotten a charter school has had to get a supplemental levy to make up the money lost to a charter school.

"When times are difficult it makes no sense to create new schools. We can't fully fund the traditional schools that are doing an excellent job. "

State Superintendent Tom Luna disagrees with Thomas.

"The point is we have to focus on providing choice," argued Luna.

Luna is the head cheerleader for charter schools. He does not believe charter schools cost the traditional schools. Even if it does, he says there have to be options.

"When a child has an educational need today, we can't tell them they have to wait for better times to get the help they need. We can't hunker down and say when times get better we'll start meeting the needs of every child. We have to find a way even in tough economic times to make sure every child is getting the assistance they need when they need it, ' says Luna.

Thomas sticks by his guns.

"I'm not against the concept of a charter school when it's unique and we're flush with money and can experiment. But I haven't seen these things and we're not flush with money either. '

Love them or hate them, charter schools are here to stay. The reason why, parents want a choice.

"I think people just need to continue to be at the table and share," says Suzanne Burton. "Try to be open to each other's views and concerns. There's things charters schools don't understand about traditional schools, and traditional districts don't understand about charters. And, the more we can do to get along and keep talking is the best way to handle things."