Two-year-old Encinitas charter school
faces conflict
North County Times
March 22, 2008
By: BARBARA HENRY
Some parents charge management needs to make changes
Two years ago, when several Oceanside teachers proposed starting an
Encinitas charter school to serve the needs of intellectually gifted
students, dozens of parents eagerly came forward.
They donated money, hunted for vacant buildings that could be used for
classrooms and even assembled desks for what became the Theory into
Practice Academy ---- the first publicly funded charter school in the Encinitas
Union School District.
But that initial joy has recently been overshadowed by conflict among the very
people who created the kindergarten through sixth-grade school on Melba
Road.
Over a period of several months last year, most of the school's volunteer
board members resigned. Now, some of them and a few other people who
played key roles in the school's establishment are saying publicly that school
administrators have lost their focus.
"Unfortunately, a great school is only as strong as its administration," said
Ginger Relyea, the former leader of the school's parent/teacher
organization and its fundraising foundation.
Relyea and others say that the school's principal, Deborah Hazelton,
should not have demanded that the board hire her husband, Michael, last
year as the school's director of operations and development.
They don't like the way he's running the school and object to his $95,000
salary.
TIP Academy
Encinitas SD meeting
May 5, 2008
Investigation for conflict of interest
NOTICE TO REMEDY
Vista USD emergency meeting
54956.5. (a) For purposes of this section,
"emergency situation" means both of the
following:
(1) An emergency, which shall be defined
as a work stoppage, crippling activity, or
other activity that severely impairs public
health, safety, or both, as determined by a
majority of the members of the legislative
body.
(2) A dire emergency, which shall be
defined as a crippling disaster, mass
destruction, terrorist act, or threatened
terrorist activity that poses peril so
immediate and significant that requiring a
legislative body to provide one-hour notice
before holding an emergency meeting
under this section may endanger the public
health, safety, or both, as determined by a
majority of the members of the legislative
body.
(b)
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), in the case of
an emergency situation involving matters
upon which prompt action is necessary due
to the disruption or threatened disruption of
public facilities, a legislative body may hold
an emergency meeting without complying
with either the 24-hour notice requirement
or the 24-hour posting requirement of
Section 54956 or both of the notice and
posting requirements.
(2) Each local newspaper of general
circulation and radio or television station
that has requested notice of special
meetings pursuant to Section 54956 shall
be notified by the presiding officer of the
legislative body, or designee thereof, one
hour prior to the emergency meeting, or, in
the case of a dire emergency, at or near the
time that the presiding officer or designee
notifies the members of the legislative body
of the emergency meeting. This notice
shall be given by telephone and all
telephone numbers provided in the most
recent request of a newspaper or station
for notification of special meetings shall be
exhausted. In the event that telephone
services are not functioning, the notice
requirements of this section shall be
deemed waived, and the legislative body,
or designee of the legislative body, shall
notify those newspapers, radio stations, or
television stations of the fact of the holding
of the emergency meeting, the purpose of
the meeting, and any action taken at the
meeting as soon after the meeting as
possible.
(c) During a meeting held pursuant to this
section, the legislative body may meet in
closed session pursuant to Section 54957
if agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the
members of the legislative body present, or,
if less than two-thirds of the members are
present,
by a unanimous vote of the members
present.
(d) All special meeting requirements, as
prescribed in Section 54956 shall be
applicable to a meeting called pursuant to
this section, with the exception of the
24-hour notice requirement.
(e) The minutes of a meeting called
pursuant to this section, a list of persons
who the presiding officer of the legislative
body, or designee of the legislative body,
notified or attempted to notify, a copy of the
rollcall vote, and any actions taken at the
meeting
shall be posted for a minimum of 10 days
in a public place as soon after the meeting
as possible.
GIN011882 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY DASTMALCHI, CANDIS North County Civil 04/04/2001
SN038500 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY DUDAS, RAYMOND North County Civil 08/30/2006
SN038499 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY IZBICKI, LAURA North County Civil 08/30/2006
GIN029917 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY INC SCOTT, PETER F North County Civil 05/16/2003
GIC753597 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY INC ASHLEY, LOIS San Diego Civil 08/25/2000
GIC851569 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY INC ALVAREZ RENEE San Diego Civil 07/29/2005
GIN012541 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY, INC HENDERSHOT, ALBERT HENDERSHOT North County Civil 05/07/2001
|
School Adequate
Yearly Progress Chart
2005 Accountability
Progress Report
California Department of
Education
Policy and Evaluation
Division
Revised December 21,
2006
School: Guajome
Park SIATech
School Type: High
LEA: Vista Unified
County: San Diego
CDS Code:
37-68452-0106120
Direct-Funded Charter
School: Yes
(An LEA is a school
district or county office of
education.)
Reports of other schools
in this local educational
agency (LEA):
6107031 Alamosa Park
Elementary 3732039 Alta
Vista High (Cont.)
6040588 Beaumont
Elementary 6040596
Bobier Elementary
6110399 Breeze Hill
Elementary 6040604
California Avenue
Elementary 6069124
Casita Ctr. (K-5) for
Scienc 6040612
Crestview Elementary
6108708 Empresa
Elementary 0105882
Foothill Oak Elementary
6040620 Grapevine
Elementary 3730942
Guajome Park Academy
Charter 0106120
Guajome Park SIATech
0100933 Hannalei
Elementary School
6107585 Lake
Elementary 6059802
Lincoln Middle 6112221
Madison Middle 6110407
Mission Meadows
Elementary 6040638
Monte Vista Elementary
6040646 Olive
Elementary 3730785
Palomar High (Indep.
Study) 3730728 Rancho
Buena Vista High
6107577 Roosevelt
Middle 3730207 Sierra
Vista High (Special E
0100925 Temple Heights
Elementary Sc 6040653
Vista Academy of Visual
and 3731288 Vista Focus
Academy 3738705 Vista
High 3730868 Vista Home
Education (Alt) 6059810
Washington Middle
LEA report
Guajome Park
Academy/SIATech is a
California Public Charter
School ..
One division of Guajome
Park Academy/SIATech
provides instruction to Job
Corps ...
Charter Schools in San Diego
County (CA Dept of Education)
Guajome Park Academy,
0050, 2000 N. Santa Fe Ave.
.... SIATech, 0627, 217
Escondido Ave., Suite #7
Vista, CA 92084, 11 - 12,
Site-based Instruction ...
37-2008-00052832-CU-HR-NC GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY SHERMAN, SANFORD North County Civil 04/03/2008
NCT comments
TO Guajome Park [-] wrote on May 24, 2008 1:20 AM:It is a good thing you did some serious research, perhaps you should have read the North County Times articles as well.
Guajome Park Academy, Inc. v. Beau DuPerry; David McCulloch District of California Case Number 3:06CV00658
North County Times Articles Changes at Guajome Academy Ripple onto Web
Guajome Park Academy Seeks to Expand Lawsuit
MLRC's Legal Actions and Developments Involving Blogs
GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY VS. SANFORD SHERMAN
37-2008-00052832-CU-HR-NC North County Filed 04/03/2008
|
Sanford v. Guajome Park Academy
37-2008-00052834-CU-HR-NC GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY SHERMAN, SANFORD North County Civil 04/03/2008
37-2008-00052833-CU-HR-NC GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY SHERMAN, SANFORD North County Civil 04/03/2008
|
Peters v. Guajome Park Academy (discrimination case)
|
2) TIP Academy (Encinitas)
Guajome Park Academy v. SIAtech
|
Charter schools, created by parents or organizers who must submit petitions
to school district boards, have a special status in the state education code.
They receive public funding, but can opt out of many of the requirements
placed on regular public schools. They get their special status because they
are considered to be innovative ---- places where new ideas to improve
education can flourish.
The idea for the academy came from a group of Oceanside Unified School
District teachers led by Deborah Hazelton. In their Gifted And Talented
Education classes, the teachers were using special curriculum provided by
Sandra Kaplan, a professor with UC San Diego.
That curriculum, which emphasized seeking multiple ways to solve
problems rather than the memorization of a single method, was fabulous,
Deborah Hazelton said. The trouble, she said, was that it was hard to make
it work in a traditional classroom given the recent federal emphasis on
student results on standardized tests.
Hazelton's husband, who had previously held an administrative spot at
Vista's Guajome Park Academy charter school, suggested that they
establish their own charter school. He wrote the academy's charter, which
the Encinitas School District's board of directors approved in May 2006.
Encinitas was chosen in part because the district lacked a special program
for what are termed gifted, or particularly bright, students. It also had some
vacant classroom space, Deborah Hazelton said.
Initially, the new school was housed at St. March Lutheran Church on El
Camino Real, but midway through its first year of operation, board members
negotiated a deal with the school district to get part of the Ocean Knoll
Elementary School campus on Melba Road.
It was after that deal was arranged, but before the school moved to Ocean
Knoll in August, that the conflict between the founding parents and the
administrators intensified, the two sides said.
A deepening divide
Some of the board members who resigned during that period said last week
that they did not want to speak publicly about why they stepped down. David
Hall, a San Diego attorney with two children enrolled in the school, was one.
"The dilemma is that we know things need to change in a big way, but we
don't want to close the school," he said, declining to comment further.
But while some have been reticent to talk to the media, former board
member Mark Demos has been airing his concerns at recent public
meetings. Demos, who drafted the compromise deal that gave Michael
Hazelton a job at the school, said last week that he deeply regrets that
decision, as well as his resignation from the board last year.
"In retrospect, we all say we should have stayed ---- we should have fought
(the hiring proposal)," he said.
The board only went along with hiring Michael Hazelton in March 2007
because his wife told them she wouldn't stay with the school if her husband
wasn't hired, Demos contends.
That's not quite what happened, said school employee Cordelia Manis, who
has two children enrolled in the academy.
"What Debbie said is, 'I'm not doing this alone next year,' " Manis said.
Deborah Hazelton said Wednesday that she believed the school needs two
administrators because a charter school is more like a tiny school district
than an individual school.
It conducts its own contract negotiations with teaching staff, it produces its
budget and it determines what will be taught, she said.
Long before her husband was put on the payroll, he was helping her out
around the school, she added.
Critics have said that Hazelton's salary is excessive --- $95,000 for part-time
work. Technically, his contract is for only 180 days a year while his wife's is
for 200 days. However, he's at the school as much as she is, Deborah
Hazelton said.
"We come together and we leave together," she said.
Reviewing the budget
Some parents have charged that the school shouldn't employ Hazeltons at
the academy, essentially calling it nepotism.
Having two relatives as leaders wouldn't be allowed at a traditional public
school, but it's not unusual in charter schools, the Hazeltons said.
That's true, said Gary Larson, spokesman for the California Charter Schools
Association.
"I could rattle off a half a dozen to a dozen" excellent charter schools run by
husband-wife teams, he said.
One area that both sides in the academy conflict said could have been
handled better is the school's financial records.
The school operates on a $1.6 million annual budget.
Demos said that during his time on the board, he never met the school's
bookkeeper and never saw any employee contracts, though he served on the
board financial subcommittee.
Michael Hazelton said the school's former bookkeeper, who worked two
half-days a month, has been replaced.
"We all agreed (the financial information) was lacking," he said.
He added that he would like to have the school put 3 percent of its revenue in
its reserve account for emergencies, but at this point the school is only
achieving about half that amount.
The school's financial issues also concern officials with the Encinitas Union
School District, which has the power to revoke the school's charter if it
doesn't perform as expected.
Superintendent McLean King said district officials have worried about the
fiscal viability of the school since its establishment. At one point during the
last school year, the academy was "as high as $60,000 in debt," he said.
Because of deficit concerns, the school has been required to provide
monthly updates on its budget and those figures are receiving extensive
scrutiny, he said.
GPA founders expand into Encinitas
with TIP Academy
Guajome Park Academy and SIAtech (New Education for the Workplace)
|
Guajome Park Academy Federal Cases 1. GPA sues student 2. Lujan suit against GPA 3. Peters suit against GPA
SN038500 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY
DUDAS, RAYMOND North County Civil 08/30/2006
SN038499 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY
IZBICKI, LAURA North County Civil 08/30/2006
|
"I've got enough experience to recognize the situation," said academy parent
Tim Cusac, who has helped established several local businesses and once
worked as corporate acquisition specialist. "It's not that uncommon (of a
problem)."
The two-year-old school, commonly known as the TIP Academy, is one of
more than 70 charter schools in San Diego County and more than 680 in the
state, according to records kept by the California Charter Schools
Association.
TIP Academy
They also oppose the Hazeltons' recent plans to open two schools in the
Los Angeles area, saying they shouldn't be doing that when they haven't yet
kept their promise to start a junior high program at the Encinitas academy.
The Hazeltons, other school employees and some parents said in interviews
last week that the academy's leadership was always supposed to be shared
by the couple once the school had been established. They also said that the
proposed Los Angeles schools will fit perfectly with the academy's goal of
being an incubator of innovative teaching techniques.
Some parents who support Michael Hazelton also have declared that the
recent conflict is simply "growing pains" that any startup organization faces.
Charter Schools originating in VUSD
1) Guajome Park Academy (Vista Unified SD)
San Diego Education Report
|
San Diego
Education Report
News, information and ideas about our education system by Maura Larkins
|