Foothills Sentry September 2023

Page 3 Foothills Sentry September 2023 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: /3 0 /23 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket OUSD licenses classroom space to uncharted charter school By Tina Richards The OUSD Board majority agreed to license the use of six classrooms on the district’s Per- alta site, formerly occupied by Olive Crest Academy, to the Ex- plore Academy Charter School for $74,476 for the first year, $84,514 for the second. Olive Crest, which leased the property for more than a decade, was paying $192,000 per year. The Explore Academy is a new charter school that was approved by the OC Department of Education almost two years ago. It did not open at that time, because it hadn’t secured a location. When the board approved the license, Explore Academy had no track record, no students, a nebulous curriculum and no information available to the public. The school says it is targeting Hispanics, English-language learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities. It claims to present a “seminar” type learning environment with virtual classes from other Explore Academy campuses available to all students. There are no other Explore Academys in the county. Found unsound The OC Department of Educa- tion staff recommended denying the school’s petition, based on a number of deficiencies. That is, “the petition fails to explain how the classrooms would be struc- tured or staffed for students tak- ing classes virtually, how students would be grouped, and whether teachers would be credentialed. The charter school presents an unsound educational program.” The county board approved the school anyway, and now it resides in OUSD. Because it was OK’d by the county, that department has full jurisdiction. OUSD will not be able to monitor, audit or over- see Explore Academy. In answer to public comments lauding the “partnership” between Explore Academy and OUSD, Trustee Kris Erickson clarified that, “This is a basic commercial agreement. This is not a partnership for any educational services.” Because OUSD is licensing the facilities, not leasing them, the agreement can be revoked by ei- ther party at any time. Erickson also pointed out that current OUSD students who choose to attend the new charter school will take state funding with them. Both she and Trustee Andrea Yamasaki asked repeatedly how many OUSD students would be transferring to Explore Academy. No one knew, but an academy official, Gloria Romero, told the board that they had about 70 interested families, most of them from OUSD, but some from Santa Ana and Tustin. Think it through Rick Ledesma explained that his interest in Explore Academy stemmed from a test score presen- tation that showed the west side of the district to be lacking. “This is a choice for parents,” he said. “I’m a supporter. This is a call to action for this board for the west side, where there are no charter schools or choice. State funding should go for the educational suc- cess of the student.” “But,” Erickson noted, “this is not a known quantity. We are not in charge of anything to do with this school. The question is, is this a legitimate contract we are entering into? We’re giving a rock star rate to an entity that we don’t know will benefit our students or not.” Ledesma took issue with the term “rock star rate,” noting that even though Explore Academy was paying less than what Olive Crest paid, it was not getting a discount. He explained that be- cause Olive Crest was also using portables, it had more space than the academy will. No one, how- ever, could clarify if the portables that belonged to OUSD were fac- tored into the lease. He also sug- gested that Olive Crest’s $16,000 per month rate included utilities, which it didn’t. Move it, approve it John Ortega interjected that he wanted to vote on the licensing agreement so “we can get going with the meeting.” But Yamasaki had more to discuss. She said that she specifically wanted to address Ledesma’s comments, as she observed that Explore's license is for the same footprint Olive Crest had, but is paying less than half. She also referred to the low west side test scores that Ledesma was concerned about. “You’ve been on this board for 22 years,” she said. “You are responsible for those scores. Why didn’t you do anything to improve them?” She attempted to continue, but Ortega cut her off mid-sentence, told her she was off topic and called for a vote. Madison Miner seconded his call, meaning the board had to vote on whether or not to vote on the licensing agreement at that time. It was 4 (Ledesma, Miner, John Ortega, Angie Rumsey) to 3 (Yamasaki, Erickson, Ana Page) in favor of voting without further discussion. The license agreement was ap- proved by the same 4-3 vote. Join us for a spectacular evening! “September to Remember” Community Event To purchase tickets: Bit.ly/SeptemberToRemember_Tickets Join us for a spectacular evening of giving back! Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center ROTARY CLUB OF VILLA PARK VILLA PARK WOMEN ’ S LEAGUE $100 Ticket Includes: Silent & Live Auctions Live Music * Wine Wall * Magic Show Dinner Buffet by Citrus City Grill The evening includes Dinner Buffet by Citrus City Grille Wine at Dinner Table Magic Show • Wine Hall • Live Music Silent and Live Auctions Sunday, Septemb r 17 | 5:00-9:00 p.m. Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center 2 Irvine Park Rd., Orange Single Ticket $100 | Table of 10 $900 Purchase Tickets Here: http://bit.ly/VillaParkEvent Proceeds from this event will directly support the impactful initiatives of the Rotary Club of Villa Park and the Villa Park Women’s League, dedicated to improving our community. Your generous contribution will help us make a significant difference in the lives of those in need. Together, we can create everlasting change. 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