SANTA CRUZ - Tension surfaced Thursday as the County Board of Education began a review of a memorandum of understanding between the board and high-achieving Pacific Collegiate School.
The memorandum follows the September renewal of the Westside school's charter for another five years, a process that included controversy surrounding the charter school's lack of diversity and other issues.
The 30-page memorandum covers specifics about how the school should be run and overseen by the county that are not in the charter. Examples include what should be posted on the school's website, a requirement for Brown Act Training by school board members, required teacher qualifications, educational performance standards and funding issues. It states the school can be charged up to 1 percent of its categorical block grant revenue for administrative costs incurred by the county.
But some specifics anticipated by Santa Cruz City Schools trustees were not in the draft considered Thursday by the board's Ad Hoc Charter School Committee meeting, comprised of Trustees Arnie Levine, Bud Winslow and Gina Locatelli.
Santa Cruz Trustees Rachel Dewey Thorsett and Cynthia Hawthorne said it was promised during the charter approval process that a plan to increase the school's diversity would be outlined in the memorandum.
"We did not challenge the charter, even though we believe it is in conflict with the ed code," Hawthorne said. "Our expectation is that the MOU does
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address it."
The memorandum is a binding legal document, and city schools trustees see it as their last chance to get the school to commit to specific ways to increase diversity.
But county education officials seem to have a different understanding.
Theresa Rouse, associate superintendent with the County Office of Education, said she has not yet met with Pacific Collegiate School representatives about the memorandum but could not promise it will include a provision about diversity.
"The MOU would only include whether they are implementing the charter as described in the petition," she said. "The Diversity Plan is on their website and are they implementing it? Yes. Are they getting the results everyone thinks they should? I can't answer that."
In the charter petition, the school outlines steps it has taken to increase diversity and vows to continue those efforts, including starting a new "lottery pilot" to gain students who would be the first in their families to attend college.
The Board of Education determined the school's efforts and plans to increase diversity met state requirements.
Thursday, seven people attended the informal meeting. All but one were school board members or school administrators.
After noting the public interest, Watkins said he would recommend to the seven-member County Board of Education at the Jan. 20 meeting that the document not be finalized this month as planned. He said it must be done by June.
"We will extend it for adequate public input, though in my opinion, it's been an extremely transparent process," he said.
But some in the audience disagreed, including George Wylie, a trustee with the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District. Wylie said he attended the meeting because he was concerned about the transparency of the proceedings.
"Ad Hoc is supposed to be for one purpose," he said. "Charters schools are ongoing, so it should be a standing committee."
Levine answered that he was willing to make it one.
"We always observe the Brown Act," Levine said, referring to the state's open-meeting law.
Rouse said she expected a revised draft of the memorandum would be completed before the Feb. 17 board meeting.
There is a history of tension between the Santa Cruz City Schools district and the school that exists within its boundaries, due in part to concerns that the school skims the district's top students. The tension improved in September, after the sides met face to face.
Pacific Collegiate School is open to all county residents. About 60 percent of its students live within the Santa Cruz City Schools boundaries.
Admission is granted via a lottery after preference is given to siblings of students and children of staff, board members and former board members. The school consistently ranks in the top 10 among the nation's public high schools.
Source: Mercury News
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