Charter school proposal dead

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT-MESA -- A year after proponents of a charter school in Costa

Mesa asked the school district for an extension to fine tune their

proposal, the effort has run out of steam.

Supporters hoped that the Mesa Leadership Academy, serving 320

students in kindergarten through third grade, would be a reality by now.

Instead, the proposal is on the shelf and both sides are blaming the

other for the concept’s demise.

Kara Handy, spokeswoman for the Mesa Leadership Academy Foundation,

said the Newport-Mesa Unified School District made unrealistic requests

of the executive committee and did not provide the commitment needed to

make the charter school a success.

“The district wanted no part in the ownership of this charter, but

continued to ‘mentor,’ ‘guide’ and ‘encourage’ our efforts,” Handy said.

Supt. Robert Barbot contends that the charter school proponents did

not understand what putting together a proposal entailed when they took

on the project or that they would be required to absorb responsibilities

for creating the charter.

Charter school supporters originally submitted a formal proposal to

the board in October 2000. The goal was to establish a school that

addressed parents’ desires for longer school hours and smaller class

sizes, as well as drama, music, science and computer programs, Handy

said.

The deadline for putting together the proposal was repeatedly extended

-- for 30, 60 and then 90 days.

In the end, it didn’t materialize because of limited resources and no

direct assistance from the district, Handy charged.

“We either needed [the district’s] help or needed an approval pending

so we could move forward. The time ran out with no conclusion,” Handy

said.

Without an approval, Handy said the committee was not able to nail

down a location for the school, negotiate with the union on contract

details or raise funds to hire curriculum advisors.

There are six charter schools now operating in the county.

Colin Miller, education program consultant for the California

Department of Education, conceded that the charter approval process can

be difficult. When the state board reviews charters that have been denied

locally, it usually requires a two-step approval process, Miller

explained.

“We want to see a charter document that’s complete and thorough, but

there are operational issues they can’t deal with, so we put constraints

on them,” Miller said, adding that if the charters are approved, the

school still can’t open until the constraints have been addressed.

Although the Costa Mesa charter proposal never came to fruition,

Barbot credits its supporters with pushing positive changes in the

district, specifically at Rea and TeWinkle schools in Costa Mesa.

“Their ideas got incorporated into the general plan, particularly with

technology and performing arts,” Barbot said.

But charter supporters contend that the district still is not

addressing the needs of students in Costa Mesa.

“Our executive committee is falling apart because they have given up

on educating their kids in Costa Mesa and are moving or sending their

children to other areas to meet their needs, like hundreds of other

families in Costa Mesa,” Handy said.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .