The County Office of Education is working with teachers and
community members to study the feasibility of creating a charter
school in San Benito County, but some in the education community
believe the action is premature.
Hollister – The County Office of Education is working with teachers and community members to study the feasibility of creating a charter school in San Benito County, but some in the education community believe the action is premature.
The preliminary study will determine if a charter school is needed and how the school would affect San Benito County’s other public schools, County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley said.
“We’re studying the possibility of a charter school to provide another opportunity for San Benito County students,” Foley said. “We should know whether we are going to pursue this in the next few months.” The study is focusing on creating a combination middle school/high school.
A charter school is a public school that is exempt from most of the laws governing school districts, according to the California Department of Education. They have more flexibility in terms of its curriculum and staffing, and usually serve students unable to achieve in conventional school environments. Like regular public schools, they are funded by the state based on enrollment and average daily attendance figures.
“(A charter school) is just a different delivery system with a different form of government,” Foley said. “We are studying the options, but this is not a foregone conclusion.”
Foley said that many teachers and community members are excited about the possibility of having a charter school in San Benito County for the first time. However, the prospect is irksome to some.
A charter school would likely cause the enrollment at San Benito High School to decline, Superintendent Jean Burns Slater said. Lower enrollment would mean less state funding for the high school district.
“I would expect the county would work with the (other) schools before developing a plan for a charter school,” Slater said. “If families feel their needs are not being met, then a charter school is a good idea. But first (they need to) see what is going on in public schools and see why their needs are not being met.”
Rancho San Justo PTO member Jennifer Coile has heard good things about charter schools, but wasn’t sure such a school would be good for San Benito County. Because charter schools require extensive involvement from parents, those parents would no longer be able to focus on making the rest of the county’s public schools better, Coile said.
Charter schools are common and California is home to nearly 600 such schools, said Keith Edmonds, a charter school specialist with the California Department of Education. According to Edmonds, San Benito County is one of only 10 counties in the state that does not have a charter school. Edmonds believes charter schools can be beneficial to many communities.
“Charter schools promote vigorous competition within the public school system to stimulate continual improvement in all public schools,” he said.
If the county decides to go ahead with a charter school, Foley said it would probably start out small. Within a few years it could serve as many as 200 students, Foley said.
“It is another option to provide expanded services so that every student gets the right education,” Foley said.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com
