Chino Valley residents weigh in on charter school location
Author: Neil Nisperos , Staff Writer
Chino and Chino Hills residents expressed mixed reactions to the potential for a new charter school to go into one of two closed school sites in the Chino Valley Unified School District.
Supporters of Oxford Preparatory Academy proposed that their new K-8 school, for a projected 650 students, be placed in the now-shuttered Los Serranos Elementary School site in Chino Hills. Board member Michael Calta says he will suggest the school be located at the former El Rancho Elementary School site in Chino, if the board approves the charter petition at its Dec. 10 meeting.
Calta said Friday he was inclined to support the charter school because its petition answers many of the contractual issues an earlier petition failed to address. El Rancho, Calta said, would be a better location than Los Serranos because of its more central location within the district. He also cited a reluctance to open a charter at the Chino Hills school because of recent renovations completed with modernization funds intended for the district.
"It's more centrally located and an opportunity for El Rancho students because of the closure to have access to a neighborhood school," Calta said.
Diane Boudreaux, a former El Rancho parent and school advocate, said Calta's suggestion to open the school at El Rancho would be a blow to a neighborhood hoping for the school's reopening when money becomes available again in the future.
"The displacement of El Rancho's students to Walnut is not acceptable," she said. "The return of El Rancho students to their own neighborhood school is the only acceptable situation."
Los Serranos resident and former district parent Dolores Reza said she thinks, as a whole, the Los Serranos community may have a favorable opinion toward the charter school coming into the neighborhood.
"I think as a whole the community may have a favorable opinion of it opening because as homeowners, it's not in our interest to have the school shuttered, and number two, it offers an option to the local community."
Supporters of Oxford Preparatory Academy proposed that their new K-8 school, for a projected 650 students, be placed in the now-shuttered Los Serranos Elementary School site in Chino Hills. Board member Michael Calta says he will suggest the school be located at the former El Rancho Elementary School site in Chino, if the board approves the charter petition at its Dec. 10 meeting.
Calta said Friday he was inclined to support the charter school because its petition answers many of the contractual issues an earlier petition failed to address. El Rancho, Calta said, would be a better location than Los Serranos because of its more central location within the district. He also cited a reluctance to open a charter at the Chino Hills school because of recent renovations completed with modernization funds intended for the district.
"It's more centrally located and an opportunity for El Rancho students because of the closure to have access to a neighborhood school," Calta said.
Diane Boudreaux, a former El Rancho parent and school advocate, said Calta's suggestion to open the school at El Rancho would be a blow to a neighborhood hoping for the school's reopening when money becomes available again in the future.
"The displacement of El Rancho's students to Walnut is not acceptable," she said. "The return of El Rancho students to their own neighborhood school is the only acceptable situation."
Los Serranos resident and former district parent Dolores Reza said she thinks, as a whole, the Los Serranos community may have a favorable opinion toward the charter school coming into the neighborhood.
"I think as a whole the community may have a favorable opinion of it opening because as homeowners, it's not in our interest to have the school shuttered, and number two, it offers an option to the local community."
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