Charter school faces year delay

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- The dream of opening a charter school in the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District won’t be realized as quickly as

hoped.

Numerous postponements of a needed public hearing and school board

vote on the Mesa Leadership Academy -- the charter school proposed by a

group of parents in October -- have made the goal of opening the school

in the fall impossible.

“Our new date is 2002,” said Kara Chichjian-Handy, a member of the

academy’s executive board.

The group of parents has twice extended the deadline by which the

school district’s board of education must vote on the group’s petition

for a charter school.

The reason, advocates said, is that they are finally involved in

constructive talks with the district as to what is best for the proposed

school and community.

That deadline will not be postponed again, Chichjian-Handy said.

“If anything, [talks] should be moving a bit more quickly now,” she

said. “The momentum is there.”

Parents hope to open a charter school that during its first year would

serve 320 students in kindergarten through third grade.

They plan to add fourth and fifth grades over the subsequent two

years.

Charter schools are public institutions that usually are organized by

local groups of parents, teachers or community leaders.

The specific goals and operating procedures are detailed in an

agreement, or “charter,” with the local school board.

District officials have asked the charter school proponents to add

more detail to certain areas of that charter, said school board member

David Brooks.

“There are areas in curriculum and budget that were not well addressed

to the point they needed to be,” Brooks said.

In a meeting last week, the concerns were boiled down to four or five

areas, said trustee Jim Ferryman, adding that the main sticking point

continues to be the location of a potential charter school.

Barring further delays, the school board is scheduled to vote on the

charter school by Feb. 26.

As for the school’s chances, Ferryman said he is keeping an open mind.

“If we come to consensus and come up with answers to some of the

questions being posed, then I’m not one for dragging my feet,” he said.

“If we’re going to do it, do it. If not, let’s tell them.”