Congratulations are in order for Principal Gary Lewis and the fledgling Lawrence Virtual School.

The charter school, operating with a state funding grant of $101,709 to help defray costs, had an enrollment goal this year of 30 students. It has exceeded that with about a month left before enrollment closes.

Although the total of 37 students announced Thursday represents less than two classrooms in today’s school environment, those are students who don’t need bricks and mortar supplied by taxpayers. They bolster the per-pupil amount the district receives from the state aid that over the years not only has not kept pace with costs, but also has been draining away from the local district. For inexplicable reasons, Lawrence’s schools, although obviously in a high-growth area, have seen enrollment declines as parents apparently opt for home-schooling or other alternatives to public education.

Lewis has been sharing information about the school with families in communities such as Wichita and Overland Park, in addition to those in the Lawrence area. Most of the interest seems to come from those who home-school their children.

The Lawrence school system has received national recognition — witness Expansion Magazine’s designation of the city’s secondary schools as No. 2 in the nation among 370 major districts. That reputation certainly should encourage parents from the 12,000-plus nonaccredited private schools registered with the Kansas Department of Education to give serious consideration to how the Lawrence Virtual School could address the needs and hopes they have for an alternative way to educate children.

Regardless of the enrollment results between now and the Aug. 20 deadline, the school appears to have successfully taken an important first step.