UPDATE: The City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday to deny Rocketship’s request to seek up to $50 million in bonds, for which up to $15 million would have been used for a charter school project in Morgan Hill. More details will follow in a related story to appear on the Times website.
The gloves are off and both sides have come out swinging in a burgeoning battle between Morgan Hill Unified School District and Rocketship Education, a San Jose-based charter school organization.
MHUSD Interim Superintendent Steve Betando didn’t pull any punches when he said that Rocketship should “abandon its interest in starting a charter school in Morgan Hill.”
“We believe the public education of Morgan Hill students should be in the hands of Morgan Hill and not of an out-of-the-area charter school,” Betando said. “Our programs are designed to meet the needs of all the students and leaving no student behind.”
“As the reality of a charter school becomes more imminent, the politics will heighten,” said Jessica Garcia-Kohl, Director of Development for Rocketship, who was not “surprised” by Betando’s comments. “I sense they perceive a Rocketship School coming to Morgan Hill as a threat.”
Betando added that Rocketship’s program will “dilute the positive effects of district programs” and is an “opt-in” school that will “segregate” a certain population within the education system.
Rocketship, however, has refused to divert from its plan to open a charter school within the city limits by the start of the 2014-15 school year. They have already found the land to build their school facilities near the intersection of Church and San Pedro Streets.
And Betando’s heated comments follow the scheduling of a public hearing at the Aug. 28 City Council meeting, where Rocketship is asking for the issuance of $50 million in revenue bonds from the California Municipal Finance Authority to provide financing for the project.
“We’re moving forward in securing land,” Garcia-Kohl said. “It’s a risk we’re taking because we don’t have a charter, but that’s how much Rocketship wants to be here. We will assume that risk.”
Garcia-Kohl added that Rocketship uses a blind lottery for enrollment so “all MHUSD students can enter into a Rocketship school, if the charter is approved by the district.”
Betando believes the public hearing is “way premature” and “presumptuous” since Rocketship has yet to even submit a petition to MHUSD for consideration by the Board of Education. He added Rocketship gave no indication of when they planned to do so.
“The process shouldn’t even be allowed until they have any authorization to move into Morgan Hill,” said Betando, who challenges the validity of Rocketship’s course of action to change an already approved County charter petition to include Morgan Hill and then submit that to MHUSD.
Garcia-Kohl confirmed that Rocketship does plan to submit its charter petition to MHUSD directly instead of just going straight to the County.
“It’s the role of the school board to represent the interests of students and families throughout Morgan Hill Unified School District,” Garcia-Kohl said. “What we’re hearing directly from parents is that they want additional choices for high-quality education, and that is what Rocketship is looking to provide these families.”
Betando, who took over on a one-year interim basis after former MHUSD superintendent Wes Smith left for another job, does not agree with Santa Clara County Office of Education’s approval of Rocketship’s countywide charter petition.
“The County Office of Education’s obligation is to support districts, not to change the direction of districts,” proclaimed Betando, who thinks the SCCOE is overstepping its bounds and should be helping districts manage their schools and not trying to run it for them.
“We can serve all students better than charters can and we want to include the community in that development,” said Betando, who has been working with district staff on a proposal to implement four “innovative” programs by the 2014-15 school year.
In fact, the district will be introducing that proposal at Tuesday’s upcoming Board of Education meeting. The district plan includes the opening of an environmental science academy at San Martin Gwinn Elementary School and a technology-focused academy at P.A. Walsh Elementary School, according to Betando. Based on community input and similar to the Jackson Academy of Math & Music, the two magnet schools are the district’s counterpunch to opening charters.
“All the staff at these schools are excited about the opportunity,” said Betando, who hopes to get Board approval for the new academies. “We’ll be developing those sites and programs that will be themed around these (ideas).”
Rocketship has another idea altogether. According to the item on Wednesday’s City Council meeting agenda, the charter company seeks $50 million in bonds, $15 million of which will be used “to assist in the financing and refinancing the acquisition, construction, improvement and equipping of certain charter school educational facilities in Morgan Hill and San Jose.”
The hearing is being held in Morgan Hill “to ensure than the Morgan Hill community has easy access to provide input” and does not mean that the city council endorses Rocketship “nor is it approving any land use decisions that will be required to build the facility in Morgan Hill,” according to the City staff report. The resolution also states that the city “will not be part of the bond issuance” and will have no obligation to repay any portion of the bonds. That responsibility belongs solely to Rocketship, the borrower.
Rocketship is seeking the tax-exempt revenue bonds from the CMFA, a state authority that issues bonds “to promote economic, cultural and community development, through the financing of economic development and charitable activities throughout California,” the staff report said.
Furthermore, City staff recommend the Council approve a related resolution accepting a 25-percent “issuance fee” that CMFA would likely remit to the City if Rocketship’s bond request is approved. City staff recommend donating this amount – expected to be about $7,500 – to the Lori Escobar El Toro Youth Center.
“At the end of the day, families are looking for the full educational experience that Rocketship provides,” concluded Garcia-Kohl.
