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"We're moving. We're staying. No, wait. We're moving. No wait...."

That was page one of a May 22 newsletter to Juneau Community Charter School families venting some collective frustration about the months-long process for choosing the future location of the 66 student, kindergarten-to-sixth grade school.

After the charter school officials' latest meeting Monday afternoon with school district administrators, they're confident they've got a final decision: The school is staying put in its rented space on Fourth Street downtown for the 2009-2010 school year - another reversal from Friday, when the two parties exchanged informal written agreements to move.

"Yes, yes, it's definitely done," said charter school site administrator Margie Hamburger on Monday.

The charter school had been in talks with district officials since February about moving into the district-owned Marie Drake building in the fall, but new developments from the School Board and the Legislature affecting the charter school kept complicating the mix. One of the most desired advantages of moving was the ability to piggyback on nearby Juneau-Douglas High School's district-wide bus routes. When talk of the move began in February, charter school officials assumed they wouldn't have the financial wherewithal to offer district-wide busing at their Fourth Street location, a factor thought to limit the school's accessibility and contribute to an undesirable skewing of the school's demographics.

But the state legislature passed a bill bumping up charter school's funding from the state, which made it possible for the Juneau Community Charter School to offer bus service regardless of its location.

Moving had other advantages, too; their Fourth Street space is adequate, but has some recurring maintenance issues and lacks the amenities of a larger school - available at Marie Drake - such as a cafeteria, gymnasium, playground and before- and after-school daycare services.

The move would have saved the district some money, too. Instead of paying $62,000 in rent and fees to the Fourth Street landlord, the charter school was prepared to pay $57,000 to the district, essentially feeding money back into the school system. Shared busing with the high school could have saved the charter school up to $25,000 a year, too, depending on the scheduling, said Brenda Taylor, president of the charter school's governing board.

Disagreements on the Juneau School Board about how to best use school facilities opening up this summer left the charter school in limbo for weeks. At one point, the school district had even given the charter school's landlords notice that they'd be leaving, then rescinded it as facilities disagreements simmered.

As recently as Friday, the charter school and school district exchanged informal written agreements to make the move into Marie Drake.

"I think we're excited that this looks like very much a possibility. But we're waiting on all the dots and I's and T's and those sorts of things," Taylor said Friday.

Hamburger said Monday that the game changer was the extra money from the state. A desire to minimize changes amid other internal school transitions this summer also played a role, she said.

"Right now, it seems like a move would detract from our energies toward the classroom," Hamburger said.

• Contact reporter Jeremy Hsieh at 523-2258 or e-mail jeremy.hsieh@juneauempire.com.