Charter school supporters appeal for district support

By Neil Nisperos

Staff Writer

CHINO -- Dozens of aqua-shirted parents, who are in support of creating a new charter school in the Chino Valley, made their case at the school district for board members to support the idea.

Reasons for the departure and creation of a new school, called the Oxford Preparatory Academy, ranged from concerns over the district's shrinking budget, and the need for more school community autonomy over program decision-making, to the desire to keep effective teachers who have recently been laid off as part of budget cuts.

Parents also said they wanted to continue familiar programs for students after the 6th grade.

The supporters, which includes a group of about 50 parents and teachers from Rhodes Elementary, submitted their petition to the Chino Valley Unified School District two weeks ago. The district is expected to return its response by June 18. If the school board decides to reject authorization of the charter school, organizers will appeal to the county for support.

Organizers said they hope to open a premiere K-8 school and anticipate open enrollment for about 500 students. Locations are currently being scouted in the Chino Valley, including a location on Fairfield Ranch Road, said supporter and Rhodes parent Carrie Birchler. The school, Birchler said, would be open to all.

Birchler, who is helping coordinate the effort to open the new school, noted the recent budget issues facing the district in her address to the school board in her address to the school board on Monday.

"Charter education can be an extremely efficient tool for local management of resources and improving the rigor and performance of academic programs," Birchler said. "Our charter petition is truly a grassroots community effort, supported by an emerging trend in both high level political and corporate support as America's public education system clearly needs a departure from broken systems and should embrace new systems. We owe our children a better way."

The loss of students from the district to the charter school could mean the possible loss of daily attendance money for the Chino Valley Unified School District in a time when the district is possibly facing more budget cuts.

Calta said the issue is a concern, "especially in these economic times," though he said the board won't know what the net loss would be until staff does an analysis.

"You do lose (daily attendance) ADA money, but you also lose expenses associated with it," Calta said. "At end of the day I still don't know what the net loss would be."

Board president Sylvia Orozco said the loss of state attendance money is a concern, but "at the same token it's not something we're going to focus on and make it the rush now as to why to deny something like that."

Rhodes also has the top API scores in the district and the County, and district officials have expressed concern over the loss of bright top scoring students to the new school, which could impact test scoring and school accountability standings.

Oxford Preparatory Academy will have a first come, first serve enrollment policy, according to its charter. Some school board members voiced concern that policy would facilitate recruitment of high achieving students from district schools, and that public lottery would be better.

"What ends up happening is that when you recruit, you find go out and find the highest performing students and help get application set up ahead of time and the bell rings you already have an enrollment of 500 students, instead of taking applications randomly, and choosing specific students to be first in line," Calta said. "A public lottery would be the fair approach to enrollment. Everybody would have a fair chance."

neil.nisperos@inlandnewspapers.com

(909) 485-9456