So, like, the West Contra Costa school district board of trustees just denied the renewal petition for the Richmond Charter Academy after, like, five years. This charter school is part of Amethod Public Schools, which runs a bunch of other charters in Richmond and Oakland. The board was all like, “Nope, sorry, we’re not renewing your application” in a unanimous decision.
Staff and students were all decked out in yellow T-shirts, trying to convince the board to change their minds. But, like, the board had already made up their minds after a detailed 79-page report from district staff. They were worried about the school’s finances and whether they could actually deliver on the educational programs they promised.
It’s kinda rare for renewal petitions to get denied in California, you know? There’s this law from 2019 that’s supposed to make things clearer for charter schools, but it got pushed back because of the pandemic. So now all these charters are coming up for renewal under this new law.
The staff reviewers found issues with the school’s finances and were like, “Yeah, we don’t think they can pull off what they’re saying.” And on top of that, there weren’t that many Black students at the school, which was a concern for some board members. The school has mostly Latino students, with only a small percentage of Black students compared to the district’s overall demographics.
The school can appeal the denial to the county school board, and then to the State Board of Education if they need to. But, like, one of the big problems was that a lot of the teachers didn’t have the right credentials. And there was a lot of turnover in leadership, which made some board members doubt if the current CEO would stick around.
One of the board members was like, “Ms. Barnes, you’re doing great and all, but are you gonna be here in a year?” Ouch. In 2020, another charter school got denied renewal, but they appealed and ended up staying open. So, like, there’s still hope for Richmond Charter Academy if they play their cards right.
The board members were all feeling the pressure, especially since it was the first time they had to deny a charter renewal. They were like, “This is tough, but we gotta do what’s best for the students.” It’s not an easy decision to make, you know?
At the end of the day, the board had to make a tough call based on the staff’s findings. They couldn’t just ignore the issues that were raised. It’s all about putting the students first and making sure they get the education they deserve. Not an easy job, that’s for sure.
