(Traditional Chinese) Strong Charter School Accountability with AB 1505-1508 – ReformCharterSchools.org

Strong Transparency, Accountability, Local Control for Charter Schools

This petition is now closed.

End date: Nov 27, 2020

Signatures collected: 2234

Signature goal: 5000

2,234 signatures

Latest Signatures
2,234	Lorena Zorrilla	Winnetka	Aug 20, 2019
2,233	Trevor Hart	Campbell	Jun 23, 2019
2,232	Sarahy Cruz-Perez	Anaheim	Jun 14, 2019
2,231	Laura Seasongood	Moorpark	Jun 02, 2019
2,230	Adrian Barrios	Anaheim	May 26, 2019
2,229	Crystal Buckley	Modesto	May 24, 2019
2,228	Rebecca Arnoldus	Modesto	May 24, 2019
2,227	Frances Maceren	Anaheim	May 23, 2019
2,226	Owin Rojas	Anaheim	May 23, 2019
2,225	Gabriel Celaya	Anaheim	May 23, 2019
2,224	Gina Jankovich	Buena Park	May 22, 2019
2,223	Edith Flores	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,222	Sergio Gutierrez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,221	Valerie Villarreal	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,220	Linda Guzman	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,219	Gabriel Roman	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,218	Alan Guerrero	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,217	Curtis Washington	Brisbane	May 22, 2019
2,216	Brianna Castellanos	San Antonio	May 22, 2019
2,215	CristinaCpare Cabrera	chino	May 22, 2019
2,214	Sonia Sanchez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,213	Rolando ACUÑA	Delano	May 22, 2019
2,212	Jerry Landeros	La habra	May 22, 2019
2,211	Julissa Espino		May 22, 2019
2,210	Sebastian Marty	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,209	Estella Rodarte		May 22, 2019
2,208	madeline telles	anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,207	samantha Acuna	Delano	May 22, 2019
2,206	Ali Reyes	Tustin	May 22, 2019
2,205	Sabrina Rodarte	Earlimart	May 22, 2019
2,204	Monica Orozco	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,203	Vivian Enriquez	Pico Rivera	May 22, 2019
2,202	Maira Avila	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,201	Irene Rodarte	Earlimart	May 22, 2019
2,200	Clarissa Sanchez	Sun Valley	May 22, 2019
2,199	Veronica Saldivar		May 22, 2019
2,198	Daisy Sanchez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,197	Noelia Miranda	Buena Park	May 22, 2019
2,196	Magalie Tovar	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,195	Natalia Miranda	Buena Park	May 22, 2019
2,194	Judith Hernandez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,193	Laura Lopez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,192	Reyna Hernandez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,191	Marizza Gonzalez	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,190	Susanna Garcia	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,189	Valeria Rodarte	Delano	May 22, 2019
2,188	Stephanie Velasco	Yorba Linda	May 22, 2019
2,187	Carlos Saldivar	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
2,186	Lizbeth Roman	ANAHEIM	May 22, 2019
2,185	Thao Le	Anaheim	May 22, 2019
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This is the online home of community members, parents, teachers, students, and educators who see the growth in charter school corruption and destructive financial competition with public schools and want to do something about it. This movement is about taking back local control of schools for the benefit of the immediate communities where schools are located. We are not opposed to community-based, neighborhood-started charter schools.

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Este es el sitio para miembros de la comunidad, padres, maestros, alumnos, y pedagogos quienes han visto el crecimiento de la corrupción en escuelas privadas subvencionadas y optan por hacer algo al respecto. Este movimiento es para recuperar el control local de las escuelas para el beneficio de aquellas comunidades inmediatas en donde se encuentran las escuelas.

Strong Transparency, Accountability, Local Control for Charter Schools

To Our California State Public Officials

Dear Governor Gavin Newsom, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalikis, Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell; State Senator Pro Tem Toni Atkins; State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, State Controller Betty Yee, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, State Attorney General Xavier Bacerra,

We are taxpayers, parents, students, teachers, and concerned Americans, and we support the call for a statewide moratorium on approval of charter schools until transparency, accountability, and local control provisions not already in the current approval process are established.

While there are some charter schools that are locally approved, are transparent with their budgets including posting executive salaries, and are accountable to the public, the vast majority of charter schools have taken advantage of taxpayers through weak charter laws and lax oversight by state and county officials.

Studies show that in school districts where teacher unions recently went on strike, Oakland and Los Angeles, charters defund Oakland public schools by $57.3 million a year, and defund Los Angeles public schools by $600 million a year. It is estimated well over 100,000 community, parent, student, and teacher supporters of public education marched in support of public schools in both cities in the first quarter of 2019.

Since 2006, the California state agency Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT)  has audited charter schools and identified $81 million in fraud, waste, and abuse. Other school budget experts estimate $100 million lost to corruption by California charter operators in 2015 alone. (Source: http://populardemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Charter-Schools-California-Report-b.pdf)

Thank you for passing SB126 which makes the Brown Act apply to charter schools, who must now keep public records, hold open meetings, and bar operators and key staff from conflicts of interest.

However, under current law, charter schools are not required to:
·       Have transparent budgets and salaries
·       Ensure facilities are asbestos and lead free
·       Ensure local support and adequate resources for students with disabilities
·       Have locally elected board members
·       File a fiscal, academic, or facilities impact report on surrounding public and charter schools in a petition for authorization
·       Ensure parental oversight through School Site Councils and English Learner Advisory Councils
·       Ensure teachers hold a Commission on Teacher Credentialing certificate, permit, or other document equivalent to that which a teacher in other public schools would be required to hold
·       Maintain adequate cash reserves as required of public schools

Because of these loopholes, many charter operators are gaming the system and are in it to make money with little regard to children’s education. Corruption is such that the largest charter school operator in America, with schools in California, is operated by foreign nationals without taxpayer knowledge and virtually no oversight.

This has got to stop.

As taxpayers and Americans, we deserve better. Our children deserve better.

Therefore, we respectively request that you remedy these problems through your legislative authority, and pass the strongest versions of AB 1505, AB 1506, AB 1507, and SB 756 that you can, with input from grassroots public school communities all over California.

[signature]

This petition is now closed.

End date: Nov 27, 2020

Signatures collected: 2234

Signature goal: 5000