accs-aug17item11

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California Department of Education
Charter Schools Division
Revised 10/2016
accs-aug17item11 / ITEM #07
ADVISORY COMMISSION ON CHARTER SCHOOLS
AN ADVISORY BODY TO THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
AUGUST 2017 AGENDA

SUBJECT

Petition for Establishment of a Charter School Under the Oversight of the State Board of Education: Consideration of the Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara, which was denied by the Santa Barbara Unified School District and the Santa Barbara County Office of Education. / Action
Information

SUMMARY OF THE ISSUE(S)

On April 4, 2017, the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) Board of Education unanimously voted to deny the petition of the Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara (OGCSSB). On May 4, 2017, the Santa Barbara County Office of Education (SBCOE) voted unanimously to deny the OGCSSB petition on appeal.

Pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 47605(j), petitioners for a charter school that have been denied at the local level may petition the State Board of Education (SBE) for approval of the charter, subject to certain conditions.

PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION

The California Department of Education (CDE) proposes to recommend that the SBE hold a public hearing regarding the OGCSSB petition, and thereafter deny the establishment of OGCSSB under the oversight of the SBE based on the CDE’s findings pursuant to EC sections, 47605(b)(2), 47605(b)(5)(D), and California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR) Section 11967.5.1(f)(4).

BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

OGCSSB submitted a petition on appeal to the CDE on May 23, 2017.

The OGCSSB petition states that Olive Grove Charter School, Incorporated (OGCS) will serve a transitional kindergarten through grade twelve independent/home study (IS) school for parents and pupils seeking an alternative educational option. Pupils attending OGCS will participate in an IS, blended learning environment with the parent as the primary deliverer of the educational program with the charter school providing guidance, support, assistance, and resource materials to enable parents to meet the individual academic needs of their pupil (Attachment 3, p. 9).

In considering the OGCSSB petition, CDE staff reviewed the following:

·  The OGCSSB petition and appendices (Attachments 3 and 5)

·  Educational and demographic data of schools where pupils would otherwise be required to attend (Attachment 2)

·  The OGCSSB budget and financial projections (Attachment 4)

·  Description of changes to the petition necessary to reflect the SBE as the authorizing entity (Attachment 6)

·  Board agendas, minutes, and findings from the SBUSD and SBCOE regarding the denial of the OGCSSB petition, along with the petitioner’s response to the SBUSD and SBCOE findings (Attachment 7)

On April 18, 2017, the SBUSD denied the OGCSSB petition based on the following findings (Attachment 7, pp. 11–22):

·  The charter school presents an unsound educational program.

·  The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition.

·  The petition does not contain the required number of signatures.

·  The petition does not contain an affirmation of each of the conditions described in EC Section 47605(d).

·  The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of the required elements required by EC Section 47605(b)(5)(A): Educational Philosophy, EC Section 47605(b)(B): Measurable Pupil Outcomes, EC Section 47605(b)(5)(C): Pupil Progress, EC Section 47605(b)(5)(D): Governance Structure, EC Section 47605(b)(5)(E): Employee Qualifications, and EC Section 47605(b)(5)(F): Health and Safety.

On May 4, 2017, the SBCOE denied the OGCSSB petition on appeal based on the following findings (Attachment 7, pp. 34–43):

·  The charter school presents an unsound educational program.

·  The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition.

·  The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of the required elements required by EC Section 47605(b)(5)(A): Educational Philosophy, EC Section 47605(b)(B): Measurable Pupil Outcomes, EC Section 47605(b)(5)(C): Pupil Progress, EC Section 47605(b)(5)(D): Governance Structure, and EC Section 47605(b)(5)(E): Employee Qualifications.

Pursuant to EC sections 47605(b)(2), 47605(b)(5), and 5 CCR Section 11967.5.1, a charter petition must provide a reasonably comprehensive description of multiple required elements.

The CDE finds that the OGCSSB petitioner is demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition and that the OGCSSB petition does not provide a reasonably comprehensive description of the multiple required charter elements. The information in this item provides the analysis that the CDE has been able to complete to date with the available information.

Ability to Successfully Implement the Program

The CDE finds that the OGCSSB petitioner is demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the intended program as the petitioner has presented an unrealistic financial and operational plan for the proposed charter school.

The OGCSSB petition states that the charter school will be governed by a corporate Board of Directors in accordance with its adopted Bylaws, which shall be consistent with the terms of this charter, and that the corporate Board of Directors holds ultimate authority for the charter school’s operations and activities, subject to the limitations of the California Corporations Code, Articles of Incorporation, Board-adopted Bylaws, charter, charter school policies, and other applicable provisions of federal and state law (Attachment 3, p. 35). The petition further states that the Board of Directors is responsible for the operation and fiscal affairs of the charter school’s annual budget (Attachment 3, p. 36). The CDE notes that the budget narrative asserts that due to the recent Anderson USD v. Shasta Secondary Home School (2016) 4 Cal. 262 court decision regarding independent study programs in Shasta County, the Board of Directors is now adopting a Charter Management Organization (CMO) model of governance that will consolidate the various OGCS charters within Santa Barbara County.

However, the description of the governance structure in the OGCSSB petition does not reflect the adoption of, nor the description of how, OGCSSB intends to operate as a CMO. Additionally, the CMO structure is not described in the Articles of Incorporation nor the Board-adopted Bylaws.

The OGCSSB petition documents include a multi-year financial plan which will be based on revenues earned and recognized at the school level and expenses recognized at the CMO level, then allocated to the charter school based on a pro-rata share of revenues for each OGCS charter school. The OGCSSB petition states that OGCS will operate as an IS school. As a nonclassroom-based charter school, OGCSSB’s revenues are primarily dependent on a determination of funding approved by the SBE. The CDE finds that the OGCSSB financial plan violates the nonclassroom-based determination of funding provisions, which require that the funding determination be based on OGCSSB’s actual expenditures, not a pro-rata share of OGCSSB’s revenues. As a result, the proposed operational plan in the area of financial administration jeopardizes the fiscal viability of the charter school.

Comprehensive Descriptions of Required Elements

The CDE finds that the OGCSSB petition does not provide reasonably comprehensive descriptions of the required elements, including Element 1: Description of Educational Program (Attachment 1, pp. 11–17); Element 2: Measurable Pupil Outcomes (Attachment 1, p. 18); Element 4: Governance Structure (Attachment 1, pp. 20–21); Effect on Authorizer and Financial Projections (Attachment 1, p. 37); and Goals to Address the Eight State Priorities (Attachment 1, p. 40).

Educational Program, Measurable Pupil Outcomes, and Goals to Address the Eight State Priorities

The OGCSSB petition does not present a reasonably comprehensive description of the educational program. The CDE finds that the OGCSSB petition to establish a new charter school is identical to three other petitions to establish new charter schools in three different communities in Santa Barbara County, all submitted by the OGCSSB petitioner. The OGCSSB educational program does not take into account the specific demographic information of the pupils or the specific community of Santa Barbara, which the charter school intends to serve.

The OGCSSB petition does not present a reasonably comprehensive description of measureable pupil outcomes (MPOs) and goals to address the eight state priorities. The CDE finds that the MPOs for OGCSSB do not provide for individual pupils and groups of pupils that will be attending OGCSSB. The OGCSSB MPOs do not take into account the unique characteristics and pupil demographics of the pupils which the charter school intends to serve.

Governance Structure

The OGCSSB petition documents assert that the OGCSSB Board of Directors intends to adopt a CMO model of governance that will consolidate the various charters within Santa Barbara County. However, the description of the governance structure in the OGCSSB petition does not reflect the adoption of, nor the description of how, OGCSSB intends to operate as a CMO. Additionally, the CMO structure is not described in the Articles of Incorporation nor the Board-adopted Bylaws.

Effect on Authorizer and Financial Projections

The OGCSSB petition documents include a multi-year financial plan which will be based on revenues earned and recognized at the school level and expenses recognized at the CMO level, then allocated to the charter school based on a pro-rata share of revenues for each OGCS charter school. As a nonclassroom-based charter school, the OGCSSB financial plan violates the nonclassroom-based determination of funding provisions, which require that the funding determination be based on OGCSSB’s actual expenditures, not a pro-rata share of OGCSSB’s revenues, thereby jeopardizing the fiscal viability of the charter school.

Summary

The CDE finds that the OGCSSB petition does not provide a reasonably comprehensive description for some of the required elements, including description of the educational program, while others require a technical amendment (Attachment 1). Based on the program deficiencies noted above and those noted in the CDE petition review and analysis in Attachment 1, the CDE finds that the OGCSSB petitioner is demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the intended program, and the petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of the multiple required elements pursuant to EC sections 47605(b)(2), 47605(b)(5), and 5 CCR Section 11967.5.1.

A detailed analysis of the review of the entire petition is provided in Attachment 1.

ATTACHMENT(S)

Attachment 1: California Department of Education Charter School Petition Review Form: Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara (50 Pages)

Attachment 2: Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara Data Tables (7 Pages)

Attachment 3: Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara Appeal Petition (85 Pages)

Attachment 4: Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara Budget and Financial Projections (26 Pages)

Attachment 5: Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara Appendices and Attachments (120 Pages)

Attachment 6: Narrative Describing Changes to Petition Necessary to Reflect the State Board of Education as the Authorizing Entity (3 Pages)

Attachment 7: Santa Barbara Unified School District /Santa Barbara County Office of Education Memorandum Regarding Factual Findings: Olive Grove Charter School: Santa Barbara (72 Pages)

8/10/2017 11:54 AM