(More than 100 people packed the Watsonville City Council Chambers in May to ask the Pajaro Valley Unified School District to approve a new charter school. File photo by Todd Guild/Pajaronian)
SANTA CRUZ — Nearly one month after the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees rejected a charter petition by a group hoping to open a school in Watsonville, the group will appeal to the Santa Cruz County office of Education.
Hollister-based Navigator Schools will submit its charter petition during the public comment period of the SCCOE Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, Navigator Director of Community Outreach Kirsten Carr said.
The organization already runs Hollister Prep and Gilroy Prep in those cities.
“We are still very committed to serving the students of Watsonville, and believe that our charter is completely viable and will prove that we are able to provide the model that we want to provide,” Carr said.
Navigator submitted its 749-page charter petition on March 28 to open Watsonville Prep School for the 2019-20 school year.
PVUSD staff recommended rejecting the petition, and the trustees rejected it on May 23.
In its rejection, PVUSD staff said it found numerous faults in the petition, including in its education program. Staff also pointed to a lack of a transitional kindergarten program and cited numerous concerns with Navigator’s financial plan.
State law allows charter school organizations to appeal to county offices of education if their petitions are denied. If denied there, the charters can appeal to the California Department of Education.
In considering a charter petition, governing bodies have a fairly narrow body of criteria by which they may reject them.
This includes presenting an unsound educational program, not collecting the required amount of signatures and not following requirements under California education code.
For information on the charter school process, visit tinyurl.com/y9fmyb7z.
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The SCCOE Board of Trustees will meet at 4 p.m. at the district office at 400 Encinal St. in Santa Cruz.
For information, visit www.santacruzcoe.org.
