CVUSD rejection of charter unfair

By Carlos F. De los Rios
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Re: your Aug. 1 article, "School district rejects charter petition":

The Conejo Valley Unified School District board's vote July 30 to reject the Meadows Arts and Technology Elementary School charter was a vote to break the law. CVUSD's argument for rejecting the charter, that "the charter's educational program is inadequate," is ludicrous.

The charter's educational program is derived directly from, and an extension of, the existing educational program at Meadows Elementary, an award-winning, National Blue Ribbon program that has also been recognized as a California Distinguished School three times, most recently this past year.

Is CVUSD trying to tell us that program is suddenly "inadequate"? Superintendent Mario Contini and CVUSD board member Tim Stephens have both recently complimented the high quality of the M.A.T.E.S. petition. Stephens went so far as to say that the M.A.T.E.S. charter's educational program would make an excellent magnet school within the district. How is it that this same program, when presented as a charter, is suddenly inadequate? The answer is simple: money.

The board's decision to reject the M.A.T.E.S. charter is based solely on the fear that the existence of the charter might hurt the district financially. Comments made during and after the meeting by board members Stephens and Dolores Didio confirm that the potential financial impact to the district is the primary reason for their rejection of the charter petition. This reasoning is a direct and explicit violation of charter law.

Superintendent Contini stated that had the charter petitioners granted the district an extension, there may have been an opportunity to modify the petition and eliminate concerns. Contini's talent for distorting facts and rewriting history can only be rivaled by some of the Third World's best propaganda ministers.

Here are the facts. The charter petition was submitted to the district June 2. The district has had the petition for nearly two months. During that time, the M.A.T.E.S. petitioners repeatedly attempted to arrange meetings with district staff and CVUSD board members to discuss the charter and answer questions and concerns. These requests have been rejected and ignored. Board members have attempted to use the Brown Act as an excuse for not meeting with M.A.T.E.S. charter petitioners, their own constituents.

The M.A.T.E.S. board was more than willing to grant the district an extension to review the charter, had the district been willing to meet with it. Only after board President Dorothy Beaubien rejected a meeting with M.A.T.E.S. petitioners and indicated that they "already understood the issues" and that there was no new information that would impact their decision, did the M.A.T.E.S. petitioners decline an extension.

July 23, the M.A.T.E.S. petitioners finally received from CVUSD a document entitled "Staff Review," which appeared to contain the district's concerns with the M.A.T.E.S. petition. CVUSD requested a response to those questions by July 29. However, on July 25 (four days prior to the requested response date), the CVUSD board met in closed session and produced the resolution rejecting the M.A.T.E.S. petition, which it subsequently passed July 30.

As requested, M.A.T.E.S. petitioners responded to every question raised by the district on July 29. In this response, M.A.T.E.S. petitioners refuted every point the district used to deny the petition. The response pointed out that CVUSD used nonexistent or inapplicable regulations as a basis for its rejection of the charter. Indeed, the response clearly shows CVUSD's lack of understanding of the requirements of charter law.

In the July 30 board meeting, CVUSD completely ignored all of the points made in the M.A.T.E.S. response. In addition, CVUSD hired as its legal adviser a high-priced, hired-gun attorney with a legal track record hostile to charter schools (irresponsible actions for a "cooperative" school district admittedly strapped for money). These actions fly in the face of the law and prior statements made by Contini.

It is abundantly clear from all of these actions that CVUSD never intended to work with charter petitioners or listen to any point they made. CVUSD's rejection of the M.A.T.E.S. charter is driven solely by its desire to rent the Meadows campus to a future tenant and generate revenue. (One need only drive by the campus to see the daily tours being given to know this.) With this vote, CVUSD has shown a clear lack of understanding of, or a flagrant disregard for, the law.

I have recently served several years as a School Site Council representative and District Advisory Council representative for Meadows Elementary. I currently serve as board member for M.A.T.E.S. More importantly, I am a father of three girls with age ranges from middle school to kindergarten.

-Carlos F. De los Rios lives in Thousand Oaks.

To download this article from the Star, Please visit the "download" page of this site.

Dear MATES Supporters,

As we expected from the very beginning, the MATES Petition was denied by the CVUSD Board of Education on Wednesday in a 4-1 vote, with Mike Dunn being the only Board Member in favor of the MATES Petition. It was clear from the discussion and comments that the Meadows site played a large role in the Board's decision since they want to rent the site to a third party to generate income for the District. Our attorneys have advised us that the conversion charter laws concerning the facility, as currently written, provide a very strong basis for MATES to keep the Meadows site, although it may require some litigation to keep it.

Please go to our "download" page, to view the MATES Response to the Resolution of the CVUSD Governing Board's denial of MATES Petition. The MATES Petition is solid, accurate and viable. The MATES educational program outlined in our Petition is derived directly from our National Blue Ribbon and three-time California Distinguished Meadows Elementary School. The current Meadows teachers who helped earn these distinctions played integral roles in the planning and drafting process for the MATES Petition. In their Resolution to deny MATES, the CVUSD Board was merely manufacturing excuses to not approve MATES out of a fear that we will be extremely successful and consequently, they will lose students to our school.

On a positive note, the MATES Board has already made several contacts with staff at the Ventura County Board of Education. They have been very helpful and their offer of guidance through the county process has been promising. The MATES Board will be making some minor revisions to the charter petition and plan to submit to the county within three weeks. We will also be submitting our Facility Request to keep our Meadows site.

Hope you are all having a great summer!

Marlo

Two Conejo elementary schools to be shuttered

By Marjorie Hernandez (Contact)
Originally published 09:15 a.m., June 18,2008
Updated 09:15 a.m., June 18, 2008

The Conejo Valley Unified School District board has decided to shutter two elementary schools by fall 2009.

The board voted 3 to 2 to close University and Meadows schools at their Tuesday night meeting- a decision they originally made in March with a provision that they could rescind that vote once they had more information on enrollment projections and the district's budget situation.

Trustees Tim Stephens and Mike Dunn voted no for the closure.

"I believe by closing two schools,:we will lose in four ways: enrollment to a charter, enrollment to private schools, home schools and other districts," Stephens said. "We need to actively court and market our district and find out what they (parents) are looking for."

Conejo school officials point to declining enrollment as one of the key elements in their struggle to maintain revenue as the 22,000-student district - and others throughout the state - try to balance their budgets.

Deputy Superintendent Jeffrey Baarstad said enrollment is projected to decline by about 2,200 students over a five-year period, from 2007-08 to the 2012-13 school years.

Closing the two schools will save the district about $1.4 million, district officials have said.

About 350 people packed into Newbury Park High School's performing arts center Tuesday night while more than 65 people spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Some parents and community members asked the board to reconsider closing their two neighborhood schools, while others said the decision was necessary to save important programs in middle and high schools.

During a study session in May, the board considered cutting various positions and programs to save the two schools, including eliminating two additional custodial positions in elementary schools, a construction supervisor, an audiovisual technician, a sign-language interpreter, three groundskeepers and $150,000 in coach stipends for high school freshmen sports.

University School parent Amy Ballen said she is disappointed at the board's final decision to close her neighborhood school. Two of her children will be in the fifth and second grade next school year.

"This will be a big loss for the school district and it will be just the beginning of cuts everywhere," Ballen said as she walked out of the performing arts center with others wearing blue and grey University School shirts. "If I can drive one mile for my kids to go (to Weathersfield School), I can drive two miles to a charter."

Meadows School parents already turned in a charter proposal to the district for Meadows Arts & Technology Elementary School. The charter's board of directors will meet with district officials this afternoon.

Trustee Dolores Didio said opening a charter only would be a drain to the district.

"If Meadows goes charter it is not good for the rest of the district," Didio said. "I've been through school closure since we've moved to this community. I understand that situation. We could operate this school district with 18 elementary schools and provide quality education for all students."

Melissa Proudfit, Marlo Hartsuyker, and Monique Foster
in front of the CVUSD on June 2, 2008 - delivering the
M.A.T.E.S. Charter Petition. (Photo by: Carlo De Los Rios)

Dear Families,

I am excited to announce that yesterday, the MATES Charter Petition was officially submitted to the CVUSD. The past 10 weeks, since the vote to close Meadows and University, has been a whirlwind of activity and I am proud to say that we accomplished our goal of completing the Charter document by June 1^st ! Our charter Petition was signed by 12 Meadows' teachers and parents representing 256 prospective MATES students. Now, the District has 30 days to hold a public hearing on our Petition. We will send out emails to keep you updated on our progress and upcoming hearings.

I want to sincerely thank the MATES Board and Committee Members and all who have worked so many hours to achieve this goal. Without the tireless efforts of these people, we could not have accomplished so much in such a short period of time. I admire all of you so much for your commitment to your children and our community!

Please plan on joining us at the MATES BBQ Celebration on Sunday, June 22^nd, at the Thousand Oaks Community Park from 11-2pm. It will be fun for the whole family! Details will be coming soon.

Thanks!

Marlo Hartsuyker

MATES President

Conejo Valley school may become a charter

By Marjorie Hernandez (Contact)
Friday, May 9, 2008

Karen Quincy Loberg / Star staff First-graders Jennifer Trephan, left, Katherine Zucker and Peyton Ellis watch a stage production at Meadows School. Parents began planning a charter shortly after the school board decided in March to close Meadows and University schools in 2009.

While the Conejo Valley Unified School District moves forward with plans to close two schools by fall 2009, parents at one of the campuses have mobilized to establish a charter school.

The Meadows School parents are developing a charter application and curriculum. They began planning their Meadows Arts & Technology Elementary School shortly after the school board decided in March to close Meadows and University schools in 2009.

The parents have since created a governing board and several committees and raised more than $22,000 for legal fees and other expenses. The group also recently secured status as a nonprofit organization.

The charter board and committee members - made up of educators, scientists, former principals, lawyers and entrepreneurs - said one of their main goals is to provide an "institution that welcomes innovation, honors the past and transforms the future."

"In creating the best charter school, we know it will take months of planning," said Marlo Hartsuyker, a founding member and board president. "We realize this is a big undertaking, and we want to make sure we are fully prepared to be successful when we open our doors."

With declining enrollment and an estimated $8.1 million shortfall if the governor's proposed education cuts are approved, district officials said they had to make the tough decision to close two schools, saving an estimated $1.3 million. District officials said they are working with Meadows and University parents to ease their children's transition to new schools.

Under current plans, University's 330 students will go to Madrona, Weathersfield and Wildwood schools. Meadows' 282 students will be transferred to Glenwood, Park Oaks and Conejo schools.

Superintendent Mario Contini said district officials met with Meadows parents last month to offer the option of creating a performing arts magnet school at Glenwood.

Most of the parents were not receptive to the idea, Contini said.

"We are caught in a hard place," he said.

"We value the parents and the kids, and we want them to be here. If they leave, it will exacerbate our financial problem, but we can't say to them that we will keep the schools open. We want to, but we just can't do that."

The district also sent a survey last month to Meadows parents of kindergartners through third-graders, asking if they would be interested in receiving "the highest priority" to attend a school of their choice within the district.

Some Meadows parents said that choice would only cause more divisiveness in the community.

"The process is a little bit like throwing chum into the water for sharks to go fight over," said parent John Hollister. "This would literally be more chum in the ocean, to have people fight over schools and then disappoint them again."

The charter school could provide a K-5 program with an arts and technology focus that draws students from surrounding private schools, plus those who are home-schooled, supporters said.

They hope to open the charter school at Meadows, leasing the campus after it closes in fall 2009.

To establish a charter, applicants must submit a petition to their local school district. If the district denies the petition, the applicants can go to the county Board of Education. If that is also denied, the last step is to apply to the state Board of Education.

Gary Page, a charter school consultant with the state Department of Education, said finding students, developing a system, hiring staff, finding a facility and managing fiscal issues are just some of the challenges that charters face during their first year. He said most successful schools have at least 100 students in their first year, and many have closed because of financial reasons.

"There are a lot of successful charters out there, but it takes a lot of work," Page said. "It takes a lot of commitment and community involvement. We have 687 charters in the state, and there are more that are opening than closing."

The Meadows parents said they are ready to take on the challenge. They are planning fundraisers and have launched a Web site, http://www.meadowscharter.org.

"We want to teach our children that you have a choice in life," said parent Craig Hartsuyker, Marlo's husband. "The right thing to do is to create a better option, a better choice, for students and parents."