ENCINITAS - A charter school that occupies part of Ocean Knoll Elementary School's campus should not receive any extra classroom space next school year, the Encinitas Union School District board decided Wednesday.

The Theory into Practice Academy - commonly called the TIP Academy - has 10 classrooms and one general-purpose room at the Ocean Knoll campus on Melba Road. The school squeezes 12 classes of students into that space.

District officials argued Wednesday that additional classroom space shouldn't be allotted based on their review of the enrollment estimates the academy has provided for the 2008-09 school year.

"We really believe that they are not credible figures," Superintendent L. McLean King said.

The academy's chief education officer, Michael Hazelton, attended the meeting, but did not speak to the board. Outside the boardroom later in the evening, Hazelton and the school's attorney said the district's enrollment forecast differs from the academy's estimate because the district hasn't counted all the students it could.

District officials said they believe that 229 students who live within the boundaries of the Encinitas Union District will enroll at TIP Academy next year.

TIP officials say the figure will be 281. Overall school enrollment, including students from outside the district, is forecast to be more than 300 children.

The number of students who live within the district is critical because that decides how much space the district must give the charter school under state law.

Charter schools have a special status in the state education code. They receive public school funding, but can opt out of many of the requirements placed on regular public schools. They get their special status because they are considered to be innovative places - spots where new ideas to improve education can flourish.

With Wednesday's vote, the decision of what to do next now falls to the charter school. Its leaders have until May 1 to respond to the board's decision.

Hazelton said they are considering their options. They may decide to fight the decision, he said, or they may decide to house part of the school at a different location.

- Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.