Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Fate of New Millennium charter school rests with Fresno Unified

By Barbara Anderson, The Fresno Bee -

Will board be swayed by grand jury report that blasts New Millennium?

The future of a southwest Fresno charter school that the county grand jury says has "failed miserably" to educate students now rests with Fresno Unified officials who have been criticized for inadequate oversight of the school.

The Fresno County Grand Jury said in a report released last month that New Millennium Institute of Education "has shown no indication that it is capable of providing a competent education" to at-risk students.

The school's charter should not be renewed at the end of this school year, the grand jury said.

But New Millennium says the school has taken steps to improve its educational program and expects the charter will be recommended for renewal.

The decision to grant a five-year charter renewal lies with Fresno Unified trustees. That decision is expected at the board's meeting on May 8, which also is their deadline to respond to the grand jury report. The grand jury questioned the district's ability to monitor charter programs and made recommendations for improvement.

New Millennium is scheduled to present its petition for charter renewal to the school board on Wednesday and its case for renewal on April 24.

Earl Brown, New Millennium board chairman, said the school has developed an educational/career program in the past two years that "provides service to a segment of students that may otherwise pursue a path of crime, gangs and/or welfare." New Millennium accepts students who have dropped out or been expelled from other schools, including in Fresno Unified, he said.

"We believe the FUSD trustee board should approve our charter renewal petition because we have complied with every requirement that FUSD and (the California Department of Education) established for the operation of a charter school," Brown said.

Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson would not say what his recommendation will be on the charter renewal and on a response to the grand jury. District staff is preparing reports on both board items for his review, he said.

Board President Valerie Davis said trustees will have to wait for staff reports on the New Millennium charter before reaching a decision. "It depends on what our staff finds and we'll probably follow that recommendation," she said.

New Millennium's charter previously faced a recommendation of revocation from the Fresno Unified charter review team.

In 2008, the team recommended trustees renew the New Millennium charter for five years -- but attached stipulations. It gave the school a year to address problems, including curriculum management and attendance discrepancies.

A year later, problems persisted and an audit had showed the school owed money to the state for attendance discrepancies for students in independent study. The district review team recommended the charter be revoked.

Hanson, however, did not present a revocation recommendation to trustees, and questions have swirled since as to why, including whether trustee Cal Johnson's employment as a crisis counselor at New Millennium played a role.

Hanson vehemently denied any influence from Johnson. He said he was waiting for the state Department of Education to agree to a repayment plan on money owed from the attendance discrepancies and then believed the charter was turning itself around. On Wednesday, the superintendent said he doesn't regret his decision but would not comment further.

Johnson has said he excuses himself from any board discussions or decisions about the school. He reiterated that Wednesday when asked about the upcoming charter renewal request.

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