Charter schools are a hot topic in Rockford, and on Tuesday Barack Obama promised to double funding for them if elected president. Rock River Elementary is a mess. What used to be a trade school has been extensively vandalized. The owner, Pastor Kenneth Dismuke, would like to see children learning here once again. "The children within the neighborhood they can actualy attend a school right there in their neighborhood and then recieve the different skills and training that would help them benefit their future." Dismuke met with Laurie Preece of the Rockford Charter School Initiative today to discuss plans to turn the building into a charter school. Curretnly there is only room in the budget for one charter school in Rockford, but Preece says Obama's pledge to double funding for such programs is good news. "Well if he doubles the funding for charter schools that will help the cause and as Pastor Dismuke works to renovate this school and prepare it as a charter school site having ample funding for doing that is really important." This support by the democratic senator for what has traditionally been a republican idea came as a surprise to some, but Obama still maintains his support for public schools, "I believe in public schools, but I also believe in fostering competition within the public schools and that's why as president I'll double the funding for responsible charter schools." Preece says they are working to draw up a robust proposal for a charter school which they can present to the school board. We contacted McCain headquarters and asked them for thier position on charter schools. They directed us to johnmccain.com. Although the website did not specifically mention charter schools it did say that McCain supports alternative teaching methods and programs. Preece says getting a charter school running in Rockford is only the beginning. Within ten years she hopes to have "a stable of charter schools that address a variety of educational needs."