County rejects charter school proposal again

The Orange County Department of Education voted unanimously on Monday to reject a proposed charter school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's boundaries, three months after the district board voted the same way.

Last December, a group of local educators presented a petition to the school board for the Orange County Academy, a charter campus that would combine home schooling with classroom instruction. The academy would have been the first charter school in Newport-Mesa history. However, the board turned down the proposal in January, saying the petition was vague about curriculum, teacher training and other matters.

At the county board's meeting on Monday, with dozens of Newport-Mesa administrators in attendance, board members turned down the petition again. The Department of Education staff had already issued a recommendation against the proposal, saying both the school's financial plan and educational program had inconsistencies.

Afterward, district officials expressed relief at the county's decision.

"We're very pleased with the ruling they made," said school board president David Brooks. "After reading the report the [county] staff put together, we believe it was made for the right reasons."

If the Orange County Academy were instated within Newport-Mesa boundaries, the district would have to pay for it out of local taxpayer dollars. The state Education Code does not permit a school board to reject a charter campus for money reasons, and Brooks said Newport-Mesa's main objections to the academy proposal were curriculum-based.

"If we're going to fund it, we want to know exactly where the funds are going and what they're used for, not a general idea," he said.

Dan Adelseck, the vice president of the academy board, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the county's vote. After the county's rejection, the charter petitioners could appeal to the state, but Adelseck said they would more likely return to the county later with a revised proposal.

"We're going to take every opportunity we have not to rush through the process," he said. "We're just weighing the options we have right now."

Adelseck added that it was unlikely that the academy board would submit another proposal to Newport-Mesa, since the property tax issue had led to so much contention. Newport-Mesa is one of the few California districts identified as a "basic aid" district, meaning that it is supported largely by local taxes rather than state funds.

In late March, Newport-Mesa launched a campaign urging parents and district employees to write letters to the county in opposition to the charter proposal. By Monday, according to administrative assistant Laura Boss, the district had amassed 91 letters, with nearly 200 parents signing petitions.

At the county board meeting, a number of prominent Newport-Mesa figures spoke against the academy proposal, including Supt. Robert Barbot, board members Martha Fluor and Serene Stokes and Westside community activist Mirna Burciaga.

Burciaga, the president of the District English-Learner Advisory Committee, said the proposal did not identify course materials for English-learners. Moreover, she told the board, Orange County's low-income population would benefit little from the academy.

"Most of our parents are working, and they don't have the time to dedicate to home-schooling," she said.