SACRAMENTO,
CA, June 25, 2002 - The California Network of
Educational Charters (CANEC), today announces its support of Assembly
Bill (AB) 2503, authored by Assembly Member Manny Diaz, which proposes
changes to where future charter schools can be located. The Diaz bill,
which will restrict the location of charter schools to the geographic
boundaries of their sponsoring district, has been developed in response
to deficiencies in oversight of certain charter schools. The Diaz bill
allows charter schools that successfully operate more than one campus
to continue to operate, but also provides an additional level of comfort
to a legislature that is questioning the effectiveness of the existing
oversight system.
CANEC remains
strongly opposed to AB 1994, authored by Assembly Member Sarah Reyes.
The Reyes bill, which would limit the location of charter schools to a
single site within the county of their sponsor, allows no exemption for
existing charter schools and would leave thousands of school children
unable to attend the school of their choice. The Reyes bill unfairly targets
charter schools that are providing much-needed options for parents, teachers
and students.
CANEC also
announces its support for AB 2628, sponsored by Assembly Member Lynne
Leach, which gives an independent, additional level of oversight over
charter school operations to county superintendents. Under the Leach bill,
the county superintendent will be able to monitor the operation of all
charter schools located within their county and will be able to conduct
an investigation into the operations of any of these schools.
In contrast,
the Reyes bill will eliminate the ability of schools to operate more than
one site, despite the fact that many charter schools successfully operate
more than one campus. It also mandates charter participation in the district
fiscal reporting structure to circumvent a recent court victory won by
California charter schools. By imposing this duplicative accounting structure,
the Reyes bill will likely result in hundreds of thousands of dollars
annually in additional accounting costs to the state.
"The
Reyes bill takes the power to choose a school that works for kids away
from parents and teachers by forcing good schools like mine to close our
doors," said Eric Schoffstall, Director of the San Lorenzo Valley
Unified School District Charter School, a high quality charter school
near Santa Cruz. "This proposal gives no consideration to the many
charter schools that are successfully educating kids at more than one
campus."
"Forcing
good schools that are serving needy kids to close their doors is the wrong
way to go," said Sue Bragato, CANEC's Executive Director. "The
Reyes bill is an inappropriate response to the problems with the current
oversight system since it only adds more bureaucracy, spends additional
taxpayer dollars in the midst of a budget crisis and leaves thousands
of families with one less option for their children."
All three
bills will be heard in the Senate Education Committee when it convenes
in Sacramento this Wednesday, June 26.
About
CANEC
The California Network of Educational Charters (CANEC) is California's
premier charter school networking and service organization and is the
public voice of its members for the charter school movement in California.
CANEC represents its members through networking, advocacy and public awareness.
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