SBCSS News and Press Releases

Two County Options for Youth Charter Schools to be Audited

2005-03-08

SAN BERNARDINO – Following a recommendation by the California Department of Education, two San Bernardino County Options for Youth Charter Schools are among 10 charter schools in five counties that will be audited in a collaborative effort between the CDE and the affected county offices of education.

Jack O’Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction, ordered the investigation and audit following a recommendation by the CDE and with the support of State Board of Education’s Advisory Commission on Charter Schools. The two San Bernardino County charter schools affected are the Options for Youth in Upland in the Upland Unified School District and the Options for Youth Victorville Charter in the Victor Valley Union High District.

“The welfare and education of students is the highest priority of all parties participating in the investigation,” San Bernardino County Superintendent Herbert Fischer said.

The other eight charter schools affected are in Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento and Siskiyou counties. The charter schools affected are Options for Youth and Opportunities for Learning, which operate 10 schools and more than 45 satellite sites.

Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, and Siskiyou county offices are contracting with the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) to conduct the investigation pursuant to Education Code Section 1241.5.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction O’Connell said the audit will review the charter school’s “parent for-profit and non-profit entities” to make sure they public funds have been used “in the best interest of public charter schools.” The chairman of the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools, Mark Kusher, said there are concerns about the “business practices” of the Options for Youth and Opportunities for Learning charter schools.

The Upland charter school has a reported enrollment of 1,301 students at sites in Fontana, Chino, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. The Victorville charter has a reported enrollment of 1,162 students with two sites in Hesperia and four more in Victorville.

The final report of this investigation -- and any recommendations that may be appropriate -- will be jointly issued by the state superintendent and county superintendents and presented to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools.

In the meantime, the audit is a confidential process. No comments will be provided until the completion of that process.

This is the second time that county offices of education have agreed to join the state superintendent of public instruction in an audit and investigation of charter school. The audit of California Charter Academy, which was announced in June 2004, is ongoing. Results of that audit are expected to be made public by the end of March or early April.