Piru Charter School petitioners made a presentation to the FUSD board on October 21st, 2009.
On October 21, 2009, the Fillmore United School District Governing Board held a public hearing on the proposal to remove Piru School from the District, and make it a separate Charter school run independently of the District. Following are five of the statements read at the meeting by both opponents and supporters of the Charter conversion:
Richard Durborow
First of all, we want to thank everyone for being here this evening and for taking part in the process of creating a “new choice” in public education. Tonight this determined and accomplished petitioning group is prepared to take a big step towards assuring that your children will not only experience improved student learning today but for generations to come. I applaud their efforts and commitment for wanting to make a profound difference in the lives of children. It is with great anticipation and excitement about the future success of your children and their students that has led them to design this high quality charter petition. This petition not only defines what it means to be an “educated person” in the 21st Century but also includes how learning best occurs. This petition reads like a good book. If you haven’t read it I suggest you do. And just like all good books the charter petition tells a compelling story; a story of next steps and high expectations, a story of how all students can reach high levels of academic achievement, how all students can be supported in a school climate based on mutual-respect and self-discipline, how all parents can be assured that their child’s teacher is using classroom instruction that works, and how all students can grow to become healthy lifelong learners. Thank You, Richard Durborow Before we go any further this evening I want to address the issue of misinformation about Migrant Education. Let’s clear this up right now. Migrant funds will continue at Piru Charter School! All migrant programs will remain in place at PCS!
Greg Spaulding
Let me start by thanking the school board and all these people for listening to me. I have a few thoughts I would like to share concerning charter schools in general, and the Piru Charter proposal in particular.
There are twenty-one public school districts, serving more than 140,000 kindergarten through twelfth grade students in Ventura County. But there are only eleven charter schools in the County. Some charter schools are independent studies programs, and some serve only secondary students. Of the eleven charter schools in the county, only four are elementary schools with site based instruction. Two of them are in Camarillo, one is in Thousand Oaks, and one is in Ventura.
Those schools are the Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education, Meadow Arts and Technology Elementary in Thousand Oaks, University Preparation School at CSU Channel Islands (also in Camarillo), and Ventura Charter School of Arts & Global Education.
Three of these four charters are classified as start up schools. Meadow Arts and Technology Elementary School in Thousand Oaks is the only elementary charter school in the county that was converted from being a non-charter school to being a charter school. Meadow Arts had been scheduled to be closed due to declining enrollment in 2008, but instead it was kept open as a charter school.
About 128,000 people live in Thousand Oaks, and there are twenty elementary schools. There are many options for students and parents living in Thousand Oaks. This is true of the other elementary charter schools in Ventura County.
The Piru charter advocates, however, are asking for something extremely unusual: the conversion of an existing running school, in fact, the only school in a small town, to be a charter school.
Charter schools are typically started for one of two reasons. 1.) The charter embodies a distinct educational vision, for example a commitment to open education, or an emphasis on technology or the arts; or 2.) the charter replaces a failing school.
It is hard to see for which of these reasons the Piru charter is being proposed. The philosophy and approaches to education articulated by the charter team seem perfectly fine, but not at all out of the mainstream of educational practice. And they have seen three years of solid growth in their state testing scores, so the school, in its present configuration and personnel could hardly be considered failing.
I read the most clearly articulated reason for the Piru Charter School in a recent article in the Fillmore Gazette, titled “Piru Charter School Train Has Left the Station.” In this article, Chris Pavik helpfully explains that, “What is not needed are more administrators sitting in offices. In essence, our charter school plan mirrors the reorganization plan that Theresa Marvel presented to the Board last year.”
Some of you may remember that last year I sent out a fairly detailed e-mail that pretty conclusively laid to rest the idea that Fillmore Unified School District is overstaffed with overpaid administrators. I don’t want to rehash the details, but I must say that I am surprised that this idea has resurfaced in connection with the Piru Charter proposal.
The most relevant question, however, is how do charter schools perform? Are charter schools better? If so then we would be remiss to not convert schools to charters when possible. Unfortunately, the body of research on charter schools is less than impressive. The best of recent research can be found in Stanford University’s Center of Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) 2009 National Charter School Study. They looked at data from 70% of the nation's students attending charter schools and compared them to demographically matched students in nearby public schools. Let me quote directly from their press release, “While the report recognized a robust national demand for more charter schools from parents and local communities, it found that 17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter schools demonstrating no significant difference.”
In other words, the most significant recent study of the effectiveness of charter schools in America found that some charter schools do better, even more do worse, and an awful lot do about the same as demographically matched nearby schools.
There is no clear reason to expect that the Piru Charter School will buck the odds and be one of the 17 percent of charter schools that improve academic gains, rather than part of the 83 percent that don’t. There are, however, clearly some negative possible outcomes that can be expected from converting Piru to a charter. First, you would be taking a school with demonstrated success, a 94 point gain in API scores over the last three years, and completely revamping it [Mr. Spaulding corrected his statement to the Gazette in an email, dated 10/27/09, “Piru went form a score of 660 on the 2006 test to a score of 739 on the 2009 test for a total gain of 79 points. The inaccurate number, 94 points, has been repeated many times, including in the Gazette. Essentially, what happened is that the initial scores reported by the state were later revised downward for both the 2006 and the 2007 tests, and no one seems to have noticed.]. Not only that, but it has been done in such a way that roughly half the staff seems to be mad at the other half. This is not a recipe for positive school reform.
There are also significant possible impacts to the other school sites and FUSD employees. A charter school at Piru would almost certainly start a chain of teachers bumping other teachers from their teaching positions, possibly leading to the loss of some jobs.
The American Federation of Teachers 2002 report on charter schools, titled “Do Charter Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment After 10 Years”, concluded that “charter schools financially harm school districts with declining or stable enrollment” and that “small school districts are more likely to be harmed financially by charter schools.” They also found that “student mobility between charter and other public schools create a financial burden” and also that “charter schools complicate the planning and operation of school districts.”
I can’t say whether the Piru Charter School would one day become a good school or not. I do, however, have severe misgivings about the way the charter idea has been pursued. Successful charter schools seek the widest possible input from stakeholders. My impression, as an outside observer, is that this was not done effectively in this case.
I also have concerns about possible negative effects not anticipated by the proponents of the charter school. They seem to be playing up the potential positives, while not realistically addressing some of the many complications and problems likely to arise by virtue of splitting off from a larger district.
Thank you for your attention.
Chris Pavik
It is my dream that Piru Charter School is a place where all employees are honored, valued, protected by the law and contracts, and will take part in making decisions when they are going to be held accountable for the results.
At Piru Charter School, teachers and classified members will have the guarantee of union membership, and the classified employees will the have the opportunity, if they choose, to join together with the teachers to form one wall-to-wall union that represents and protects the rights of all employees. Classified employees have the right to choose which union they wish to join, and one option open to them will be to join CTA, along with the teachers, or stay with CSEA. It is their right to choose under the law.
At PCS, all employee’s salaries and benefits will be protected, because the current FUTA and CSEA contracts will become the contracts for employees at PCS. Changes to those contracts can only be made through formal negotiations between the employees’ unions and the PCS Board of Directors. It is the policy of PCS that salaries and benefits of its employees will be as good as, or better, than those of District employees.
At PCS, health insurance benefits will be protected. It is the intention of the founders that PCS will not seek to cut the health benefits of classified employees, as the Fillmore School District is seeking to do right now in it’s most recent offer to CSEA. Our school is budgeted to fund benefits as they stand now, including health benefits for four-hour classified employees. If a private employer like Starbucks, which has no union, can provide half-time employees with benefits, it seems reasonable that a public school should do the same, to attract and keep our outstanding classified employees.
Furthermore, we have a budget which provides for increases in classified employee pay every year for the first five years, up to 3% per year. It is the intention of the founders that our classified employees will finally start to receive pay comparable to classified employees in other public schools, something they have been promised for years.
At PCS, all public school employee rights in the Ed. Code will also protect all the employees at PCS. Employees will be protected from arbitrary dismissal, or layoff without notice, and given all their due process rights.
At PCS, all employees will have a voice in the governance of the school. There will be at least one classified employee and one teacher on the school’s Board of Directors, to make sure that the voices of employees are heard when decisions are made. The school administrator will also be a member of the Board of Directors, but will not have a vote. Because it follows the rules for non-profit organizations, the majority of the Board will be made up of non-employees of the school. This majority will be made up of parents and community members.
Employees will also help administer the school by serving on the PCS Council, a committee which is responsible for creating the school budget and writing the policies and plans which the Board will vote upon. Teachers, classified employees and parents will be members of the PCS Council.
This structure will ensure that the Piru community, working with employees at the school, will have control of Piru Charter School.
Again, the charter petition specifically states that all employees, including the classified, will retain their right to union representation, they will keep their current collective bargaining contract, they will have all rights guaranteed to school employees under the California Education Code, they will keep their health benefits and current salaries, and a memorandum of understanding will be negotiated between the District, the charter school and the unions to guarantee the rights of current employees.”
Finally, we seek to continue the operation of the Piru Library exactly as it is now. Regarding the Library, since the District is still the owner of the property, the agreement with the District will still be in effect, operating costs currently paid by the District, and we will assume the responsibility in the agreement to spend the required amount each year on purchasing children's books for the Library.
Regarding the School Farm, we will seek to reach an agreement with the landowner to take responsibility for the upkeep and liability costs for the operation of the School Farm.
Jeff Sweeney
As superintendent of schools in Fillmore, my concern has and will always be what is in the best interest of the students and staff of this District. That is the constant focus of this administration, and the Governing Board.
This primary concern for what is best for the students and staff of the District informs all of my decisions as superintendent, including my consideration of this charter petition. Unfortunately, at this point, I do not believe that the charter petition for the proposed Piru Charter School is what is best for the students or the staff, for a number of reasons.
In my opinion, the process that was used in developing and submitting this charter was fundamentally flawed. It was not inclusive, it was not open, it was not transparent, and it did not involve all of the stakeholders. This is not just a typical charter school application, this is a request to convert a popular and successful school that is making great strides under the auspices of the District into an independently operated charter school separate from the District. However, most of the families of students who currently attend Piru Elementary, and live within its attendance boundaries − the very students whom the charter purports to be planning to serve − were not included in the process or invited to share their thoughts, hopes, and plans. The charter request apparently came as a complete surprise to these families. The District has been hearing of these families’ questions and concerns about what is happening to their school. While the charter states that the majority of Piru families want this charter to be approved, the information that the District has been receiving indicates that the majority of families didn’t know the request was being made or have any real information about the proposal, much less support it.
The primary home language of 61% of Piru’s current parents is Spanish, but neither the charter nor any other information that we have seen has been provided in Spanish. How can the petitioners claim to have garnered support from these families, if they have not even been provided the opportunity to review the proposal in their primary language?
This charter, if approved, may impact certificated and classified employees District-wide, not only those at Piru. However, while the charter proponents have obtained the requisite signatures from 50% of tenured teachers at Piru, the District has been told repeatedly that the other Piru teachers, the Piru classified staff, and the remaining District employees were not included or consulted. These other groups of staff members have indicated to the District that they fear what the proposal may mean for them and the school.
All of this taken together says to me that the charter development and submittal process was fatally flawed. Before converting a school that is performing well and serving its students’ needs to a charter school, the District would need clear indicators that that is what the stakeholders desire, and given the process that was followed, we don’t have that here. Without such stakeholder support and involvement, the school is unlikely to be successful.
Some issues that impact Fillmore employees have also been raised since the charter was submitted, and I want to comment on them briefly. The District does not believe that it is in the interest of its students or employees who continue to work for the District to grant any special return rights to employees who choose to leave their District jobs to work at the proposed charter school. A guarantee of such return rights would force the District to hold open positions for those former employees. This would mean the District would either have to fill positions with temporary employees, or potentially release or layoff new teachers and other employees in order to return former employees to the positions they voluntarily left. The District believes that this would be detrimental for students, detrimental for employees, and detrimental for the District as a whole.
I am also concerned because there seems to be so much misinformation out there, both about what the District has or has not done, and what the charter actually offers. Some people are apparently alleging that the District has not supported Piru Elementary School or has somehow shortchanged that school. This is absolutely untrue. In the last few years the District has spent over $1.6 million on facilities improvements at Piru, and has plans to invest another $1.3 million when the State of California releases the Williams funds that are owing to the District. The repairs to date have included such major projects as: replacing a play structure, adding two new portables, paving and re-grading, electrical and plumbing modernization, and reroofing. The future planned projects include repair and replacement of 41 windows, turf playfied regrading, flooring and asphalt repair, and many other projects.
The District has also provided major support to Piru’s instructional program, by both encouraging innovation and great teaching, and through fiscal support equivalent to that for other District elementary schools. This recent major funding has included installation of a computer lab, Waterford math and science software, half the cost of the Lesson One program that the school has implemented in the past two years, a Promethean Board, and the SPARK physical education equipment and handbooks. The District’s essential educational support includes Title I, GATE, Safe and Drug Free Schools, Migrant and English Learner support by District coordinators, all of whom specialize in our student populations across the District, as well as our outstanding instrumental music program.
This District knows how to run successful schools, and that is being illustrated by the great strides Piru has been making. Based on its test scores, is now one of the most improved schools in Ventura County, as a District school. Information that is being circulated in favor of the charter, however, has included inaccurate information and implications. For example, Piru is not under threat of closure as a District school, despite statements to the contrary in materials being distributed in support of the charter. Another flyer implies that if Piru becomes a charter, it will immediately undertake such projects as a drop-off turn around and field improvements, but the charter makes no mention of or provision for such projects, nor does the proposed budget allocate funds to such projects. Just like the District and all public schools in California, the funds available to charter schools have been reduced and limited by the current budget crisis, and the proposed charter school will not have unlimited funds to make all dreams and ideas a reality. It too would face tough fiscal decisions, without the greater experience that the District brings to these issues.
The proposal does not offer anything truly innovative and creative for the benefit of students. It does not seem to be filling an educational need. When all of the details of the proposal are really considered, the bottom line is that the charter does not propose much in the way of change. They plan to offer some yoga classes and organic food (both of which would cost money), and there is the possibility of having smaller class sizes in six or seven classrooms. Even that smaller class size which has been so strongly advocated as a benefit of the charter is not guaranteed by the charter, and it will have to be paid for, which may simply not be possible under the current economic conditions facing all public schools, including charter schools. At this point, these changes simply don’t seem adequate to support a conversion proposal in which stakeholders have not had an active role, and which eliminates District support as well as important programs provided by the District.
The District is still in the process of fully analyzing and considering the charter, and will also consider the presentation made tonight by the petitioners, as well as the public comments. I appreciate the participation of so many members of our community here tonight, and what I know is our shared interest in providing the best educational opportunities for our students. Based on all of the information available, the District administration will make a recommendation to the Governing Board, which will make a final decision on the proposal at a public Board meeting scheduled for November 9.
Susan Jolley
Good evening,
One of the questions I think I would be having if I were sitting in your chairs tonight is how this charter process ever began and… why?
Very simply, it began as we looked at our students and our data about how they are learning. While many of our students are posting excellent gains in academics, we know that we still have students struggling in our upper grades. What we believe is happening is that as the work becomes harder, and our students are not firm in English or basic skills, and their parents are less able to help them with their work, we increase class size by over 50%. If we want all kids to learn, we need to keep all elementary class sizes small. Charter Schooling will bring us that option.
Two years ago when we implemented Lesson I, there was a great deal of controversy. Many outside of the community of Piru did not understand the challenges our students were facing, and the desperate need they had for the lessons of Self Control and Self Pride. Without school board support, we might have been unable to marshall the funds to bring about the total transformation in school culture that has happened at Piru Elementary. We ask for this same kind of trust tonight. Give this school a chance to purchase the programs our students need. and let us show you what our local kids can accomplish!
A public charter school is different from a public school in that the money from the state and federal government goes directly to a school, rather than to the district office, first. By doing many extra district tasks in the school office, a school can keep more funds for kids, as well as the choice of how to spend them. The State of California highly recommends Charter Schools because…they work. A charter conversion school , as Piru would be, has yet to fail or close in the State of California. Migrant funding has been guaranteed by the State Department of Education. I have a phone number for you!
You will hear from some disgruntled staff tonight that they have been left out of the process. Not true. Not true. We spent a full year with our entire staff before taking a vote. Three teachers asked to stay neutral on the charter issue. Two teachers, stating they were worried about their retirement plans, were strongly opposed. Finally, one teacher earned our respect by stating that, although the charter choice would not be possible for him, he would transfer to another school in June, so as to not stand in the group’s way. He is now teaching at San Cayetano.
We have recently endured some misinformation spread about our work and some personal harsh attacks which puzzle us. You asked us to Believe and It would happen. We did. You asked us to Be the Change, and we have. You asked us to demonstrate the Power of One, and we will. We are going to be one wonderful schooling option for both the communities of Piru and Fillmore, and you have the authority tonight to decide to work with us and make that happen.
The task ahead is to present this proposal to the Piru Community and begin working with various Piru groups and departments to bring Piru School back to Piru. Some may ask…how come I am just hearing about this? We answer - our planning year lies ahead. We have now been given every assurance that this document will indeed be authorized at some level of government. Now that this is happening…we ask all to work with to make Piru Charter School a place which will honor tradition, reach to the future, and proudly serve generations to come.
When we began our work to found Piru Charter School, Yvette King Berg, Vice President of the California Charter School Association, asked each of us to start dreaming…we ask you to begin dreaming too.
