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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):
     OUSD VOTES $219,400 for PR

    Here is what spending $219,424 of educational tax dollars on PR buys (For the latest in OUSD News on the web Click on): 
    OUSD in the NEWS



    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 H
    For AGENDA-CLICK ON: OUSD AGENDA



    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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