Eudora ? The Kansas State Board of Education has $8 million worth of charter school grants to hand out, and the Eudora school district will try to get a piece of the pie.

In a special meeting Friday evening, the board approved seeking a $300,000 grant to set up a biotechnology charter school.

“The K-10 corridor and the Kansas City area are quickly becoming a center for biotechnology research. If we can open our student’s eyes to some career opportunities, then we would see an economic impact in this region and draw some more business to the area if we can provide an educated work force,” Supt. Marty Kobza said.

The grant, if approved, would go toward funding state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, additional staff and staff training.

“This is our attempt at establishing a different way of teaching,” Kobza said. “We don’t teach kids how to fix a car with a book and lectures; they take shop class.”

The charter school would take place within Eudora High School. Tenth- and 11th-graders with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and who have passed a competency test would attend the charter school during zero through third period. In those extended three hours, students would perform experiments and discuss practical applications. Interested ninth- and 10th-graders would have biotechnology concepts integrated into their required course curriculum, Kobza said.

Some board members voiced concern that such a program might be forcing students to make career choices too early. But Kobza said he didn’t think the problem — if it occurred at all — would be long-lasting.

“We’re not saying we’re going to produce scientists,” Kobza said. “Even if these students decide not to enter the science field, it’s good for them to have this background.”

Eudora High School teachers say they know of at least 20 or 30 students who would be interested in the charter school.

The proposal for the charter school has been modeled after Middlemen High School in Lexington, Mass. Kobza said the Boston area was the leader in biotech research because of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kobza believes a similar partnership between Kansas University, Kansas State University and the charter school could make this area the new leader.

“This is a great opportunity for students interested in biotechnology who want a career in science, and who want to stay in the Kansas City area,” he said.

The district should hear sometime in February whether it will get the grant, Kobza said.