Thursday, September 10, 2009

Inching Toward Autonomy

Two charter school boards associated with the Cesar Chavez Academy School Network met yesterday. The Cesar Chavez Academy-North Colorado Springs (CCA-N) board met but tabled most of its agenda as it wasn't clear on its current legal status. CCA-N held board elections under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Charter School Institute board as a transition to operate autonomously. The authority of the charter school board is still undecided.

Currently CSI is in a contract with the Network to operate CCA-N and GOAL Academy. GOAL is an online school operated in Pueblo. After issues arose at CCA-N last spring, CSI reconsidered its decision to contract with the Network, which they defined as a management company, instead of the board of a charter school. While Colorado law doesn't dictate what type of entity can be party to a charter contract, an authorizer can make policy to only enter into contracts with charter school boards.

Stakeholders from CCA-N asked to establish their own board and operate independently from the Network. Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Hernandez (COO and Operations Director, respectively) and Jason Guerrero, CFO of the Network contend that the charter school doesn't have the authority to operate independently.

The second CSI charter school to venture out on its own is GOAL Academy and their board met yesterday along with state officials Tony Dyl, Asst. Attorney General and Lee Barratt, Interim Executive Director of CSI. Both CSI and the Network have appointed board members for GOAL and more are slated to join.

Both charter schools are considering filing for nonprofit incorporation as many charter schools do in Colorado. However, it's still unclear when, and if, the governing boards will gain the authority to file with the Secretary of State's office for that status.

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