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Tuesday, December 17, 2019
OUSD Staff Report shows charter school application has numerous problems
ORANGE Unified
Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
a news service of
Orange Net News /O/N/N/
OUSD Staff Report shows Orange County Classical
Academy’s application has numerous problems
Former
OUSD Attorney and Education Alliance founder
Mark Bucher is seeking approval from Orange Unified for his charter school. After
being forced to withdraw his first application for his proposed Orange County
Classical Academy (OCCA), his second application will be voted by the Orange
Unified School Board Trustees at their meeting on Thursday December 19, 2019.
A
comprehensive OUSD Staff Report in the form of a Resolution (Resolution #20-19-20) accompanies
the Orange Unified Agenda Action Item 8E- the staff recommendation to deny the
application. The OUSD Staff Report in
the Resolution methodically lays out six areas that the OCCA application falls
short:
1.
The charter school presents an unsound educational program for the pupils to be
enrolled
2.
The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program
set forth in the charter.
3.
The petition does not contain the required number of signatures.
4.
The petition does not include the required affirmations.
5.
The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of all of
the 15 required charter elements.
6.
The petition does not contain a declaration of whether the charter school will
be deemed the exclusive public employer of employees of the charter school for
purposes of the Educational Employment Relations Act.
The
OUSD Staff Report lays out evidence for each of the deficient areas in the OCCA
Application.
The
OUSD Staff Report outlines numerous problems within the application. One example is where the OUSD Staff Report
calls out OCCA for representing itself as being formally associated with
Hillsdale College Barney Charter School Initiative:
"...OCCA
has not been accepted as a BCSI affiliate. In fact, OCCA provided a letter from
Hillsdale College that specifies that while OCCA may use Hillsdale College’s
Program Guide: Scope and Sequence, may indicate that its curriculum and program
were developed in consultation with and/or are similar to the curriculum used
at BCSI-affiliated schools, and may use publicly available information from
BCSI for training and professional development, OCCA is not and cannot
represent itself as a “partner, collaborator, or formal affiliate of Hillsdale
College or BCSI.” Nothing in the letter from Hillsdale College indicates that
this is a temporary limit on OCCA’s association with BCSI or that OCCA will be
made a partner, collaborator, or affiliate of BCSI if and when its Charter is
approved. Simply obtaining curriculum is not adequate to the development,
establishment and operation of an educationally sound school..."
The
OUSD Staff Report also addresses in-depth the OCCA application falling to meet to
meet the needs of the most vulnerable students: special needs students and
English Learners. The OCCA application is cited for lacking funding for those
programs. Elsewhere in the OUSD report, staff reports that the OCCA second
application removed state required TK classes that its first application
included.
The
OUSD Staff Report also cites evidence of numerous problems with the OCCA Application's
proposal for the OCCA Science Program. The staff analysis includes simple no-brainier
items like the proponents of the OCCA plan to use outdated 10-year-old science
text and curriculum:
"
The Charter references the use of Pearson’s Science Explorer, but the newest
edition of this program is 2009, which does not align with NGSS... Based on the
program guides, the curriculum does not appear to be completely aligned to
current state standards.."
The
OUSD Staff Report cites numerous specific evidence of how the OCCA's Application's
science curriculum does not meet current state curriculum standards (see link
below).
The
OUSD Staff Report also points out examples of OCCA Application's inconsistencies like this example related to English Learners:
"
OCCA’s plan for supporting its English Learner (“EL”) population is not clear
or adequate, and is internally inconsistent. 1. For example, the Charter
initially specifies (emphasis added): EL scholars are not placed in sheltered
or bilingual instruction classes at Orange County Classical Academy. Later, the
Charter provides, There are two English Language Development programs at Orange
County Classical Academy: Structured English Immersion (“SEI”) and English
Language Mainstream (“ELM”)."
That
English Learner excerpt from the OUSD Staff Report continues with a list of
examples about the problems with the OCCA application plans regarding English
Learners (see link below).
The
OUSD Staff Report cites evidence of numerous problems in all six of the identified
problem areas of the OCCA Application.
According
to the OUSD Staff report, just as damning as the ill-prepared academic problems
in the OCCA Application are the documents fiscal inaccuracies. The OUSD Staff Report states:
"As
an initial matter, OCCA inexplicably submitted two separate and conflicting
budgets, with a difference in revenues of almost $400,000, a difference in
expenses of over $50,000, and a difference in projected reserves of more than
$650,000 by the last year covered by the budgets. OCCA has not provided any
explanation as to why it submitted two different budgets. As such, OCCA’s
budget and financial projections are facially invalid."
The
OUSD Staff Report does however analyze both budgets and finds they both have
problems.
"This
analysis established that, in both budgets, OCCA substantially overestimated
revenues and underestimated expenses and the budget narrative does not align
with the budget projections. Some specific examples of the defects follow. 3.
The budget narrative specifies that OCCA is applying for a $250,000 line of
credit for cash flow purposes, but the budget projections fail to include
provision for repayment of this substantial loan. Additionally, the budget
projections include a separate long-term loan of $425,000, but that loan is not
described in the budget narrative. The cashflow document includes repayment of
an unspecified $375,000 in year one, though it is unclear which loan or loans
are being fully or partially repaid in this amount."
The
OUSD Staff Report goes on to cite even more fiscal problems that include the
OCCA Application underestimating facilities rent, employee salaries and
required employee health care costs.
The
OUSD Staff Report's evidence is overwhelming that the OCCA Charter School is
unprepared to operate.
The
OCCA Application and its connection to Orange County political operative Mark
Bucher has peaked interest in the Greater Orange Communities. The watchdog group Orange Community Group (ONN is the communications arm of OCG) has noted
that the OCCA proponents are among Orange County's long-time elite anti-public
education players.
Also
circulating in Greater Orange social media about the OCCA application is a recent
Voice of Orange County Opinion piece
about two of the Orange School Board Trustees: John Ortega and Brenda Lebsack.
The Opinion piece calls into question the large campaign contributions from the
California Charter Schools Association
to the two trustees and questions if those contributions will impact their
votes on the OCCA application.
The
editorial appears to be alarmist given the background of the two trustees.
Ortega
has long shown both his support of fiscal reasonability for both public schools
and charter as evident by his longtime support and fiscal scrutiny of OUSD's
two district charter schools- El Rancho and Santiago Charter Schools. Ortega also was part of the original
Citizen's Board Slate that defeated Bucher's Reactionary Jacobson Majority
Board in 2001. Ortega knows how Bucher
used the Jacobson Majority to file expensive lawsuits that enriched
Bucher. As a long-term Board member who
has devoted most of his adult life to the fiscal stewardship of education for
Orange students and taxpayers, it is hard to imagine Ortega - a supporter of
charter schools-approving a charter that is so ill equipped to serve local
students and fiscally questionable. A school that would prove the worst
stereotypes about bad charter schools that continue to tarnish the charter
school movement.
As
for Lebsack, she too has a history of supporting charters-like the local OUSD
charters-that support all students. As a special education teacher, of all the
OUSD trustees, Lebsack understands the need for a charter to serve students
with special needs and has championed those students in her tenure on the OUSD
Board. In addition, as a co-Pastor of a Christian ministry that serves the English
Learning families community, it is hard to imagine Lebsack voting for a charter
that is at present, ill prepared to serve students in two areas that are so
important to her personal missions in life.
The
OUSD staff lays out evidence for each of the deficient areas in the OCCA
Application and proves the proponent administrators of the proposed OCCA have
submitted an inadequate application. Approving the OCCA Application will result in
an inadequate charter school that will further the negative charter school
stereotypes and potentially harm Orange students.
For more information, CLICK ON
INSIDE the
OUSD Agenda
The OUSD trustees will elect officers and approve
meeting dates for the new year:
Item 4 A-C ANNUAL
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
The
OUSD staff will report on the state required First Interim Financial Report
on the current year District Budget:
Item
8 C ACTION ITEMS: FIRST
INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORT AND TRANSFER RESOLUTION NO. 18-19-20
The
OUSD staff will present the student calendars for the next two school years:
Item 9 A INFORMATION / DISCUSSION ITEMS
STUDENT CALENDARS 2021-2022 AND AMENDED 2020-2021
To view calendars, CLICK ON:
OUSD Public Relations costs
In February 2018 OUSD Trustees voted $219,424 for a Public Relations contract (Click on):
Here is what spending $219,424 of educational tax dollars on PR buys (For the latest in OUSD News on the web Click on):
NEXT
OUSD BOARD MEETING December 19, 2019
Next OUSD Board Meeting
-OUSD BOARD ROOM
Closed Session 5:00 pm Building B Conference
Room
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm Board
Room Building
For more
information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions
call Business Services at 714-628-4015
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