Can charter school move to Paso Robles? Here’s what SLO County board decided
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Education voted Thursday to approve a North County charter school’s petition to move to a new district after almost three hours of deliberation and public comment.
Almond Acres Charter Academy will now be authorized by the county Office of Education starting in the 2021-2022 school year.
Though its charter through the San Miguel Union School District doesn’t expires until June 2022, the vote allows for Almond Acres to transfer its charter over sooner.
“I was very concerned because the staff report was extremely negative,” said Bob Bourgault, the school’s executive director. “So for the board to have spent the time that they did to really look at it, research things, consider the truth and then really honor that truth was beautiful.”
The 310-student school plans to move from its current home in San Miguel Joint Union School District to a new building in Paso Robles near Niclick and Creston roads.
Construction on the new school site, located in between Paso Robles High School and Winifred Pifer Elementary School, has already begun, but the actual groundbreaking will occur soon, said Almond Acres board member Ed Surber.
The county’s decision to authorize Almond Acres follows their review of an extensive and scathing report that pointed out several deficiencies in the charter school’s operations, including issues with its demographics and academic success, and inconsistencies between its petition and its school policies.
“I don’t see anything unsound about this education program” after reviewing the report’s finding,” said county board member Diane Ward, who made the motion to approve the charter’s petition.
Those outspoken against the charter school’s petition pointed largely to the school’s demographics, which differ greatly from that of Paso Robles Joint Unified School District.
About 70% of Almond Acres students are white and 25% are Hispanic or Latino, while about 38.9% of the Paso Robles school district students are white and 55.3% are Hispanic or Latino, according to the California Department of Education.
“The charter school law requires that charter schools demonstrate that they will reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the school districts where they are proposing to locate,” said Ann Swinburn of the California Teachers Association. “What Almond Acres has shown very clearly is that they have failed to do that under their existing charter, and they have given the board no indication that they have a plan to succeed in doing that if they change locations.”
Teachers, administrators and parents from Almond Acres argued that they cannot legally turn students away from admission to the charter school, so they are not choosing to have a majority-white enrollment.
“We are very proud of our diversity,” Bourgault said. “And we have reached out to families in different demographics to encourage more enrollment.”
Because its move to Paso Robles was accepted, Almond Acre plans to grow its enrollment by 200 students to 500 total in the next few years.
Charter schools such as Almond Acres are considered similar to public schools because they cannot charge tuition or turn students away from admission for any reason, and they receive state funding.
Charters and public schools must adhere to state standards, but charter schools have more flexibility in terms of curriculum.
Charter schools in California must be approved by a local school board, county board of education or the state board of education to operate. Once approved, they operate independently of a school district.
However, when charter schools reside within a school district’s boundaries, they often compete with other campuses for students.
The Paso Robles school district is still struggling to bring students back into classrooms after being slammed with a $3 million budget deficit resulting primarily from irresponsible spending by the former district administration.
Introducing Almond Acres Charter Academy into the Paso Robles school district could further drive its enrollment numbers down because students could transfer out of the district and into the charter school, said James Brescia, the county superintendent of schools.
Since about 60% of Almond Acres’ current students come from the Paso Robles school district area, Surber said, drawing down enrollment should not be a concern.
“They’re worried we’re going to somehow steal (students) from the Paso district,” Surber told The Tribune before the vote. “But again, we’re providing choice.”
Bourgault said he was elated that the county Board of Education “put the children first in today’s vote,” as opposed to politics and money, and said he looks forward to working with the county over the upcoming years.
“Now we have a board behind us that understands and agrees with the philosophy of Almond Acres and wants to see us thrive,” he said. “So I think the collaborative relationship is going to be more powerful than ever.”
