Orange County Education Board Holds Forum to Strengthen Charter Schools

Orange County Board of Education trustees host a charter school forum in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2022. Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times

To promote school choice to parents, the Orange County Board of Education held a public forum aimed at “strengthening California’s charter schools at a local and state level,” featuring a discussion among experts and policymakers Sept. 20.

All five members of the board have been strong advocates of charter schools. The board also serves as an appeal board when a petition to open a new charter school is rejected by a local school district’s education board.

Besides dispelling misconceptions about charter schools, the panel provided suggestions on how to improve and support these schools in the county through legislation and public policies.

“The purpose of this forum is to inform our community about the successes and the efficiencies of public charter schools ... to highlight some of the misunderstandings and myths, and [to] shed light on the realities of what public charter schools can do in our communities,” board president Lisa Sparks said during a press conference preceding the forum.

Community members attend a charter school forum hosted by the Orange County Board of Education in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2022. Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times

Moderated by former state Sen. Bob Huff, the panel consisted of former state Sen. Gloria Romero and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, both proponents of parental choice in education; Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the California Charter Schools Association; Lance Izumi, senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute; and Walter Myers, an adjunct theology professor at Biola University.

Common Misconceptions: Admission, Funding, Demographics

Myers said a common misconception about charter schools is that they “drain money from traditional public schools,” which he said “doesn’t make much sense” because charter schools are also public schools, or even the better ones.

“Rather than a competitor to traditional public schools, charter schools are more of a model for how public-school systems can be more responsive to student needs,” he said.

Myers said charter schools are producing better academic outcomes since they can lose their authorization if they are unable to effectively serve their students.

To Izumi, it is a rumor that charter schools’ better performance comes from being highly selective in their admission process as many of their students come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“There are people who believe charter schools cherry-pick the best students and that’s why they may perform well—but nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “It is often the charter schools who are working the hardest to educate the most at-risk kids in the state, with many of them being dropouts from the public school system, or homeless youth ... trying to escape families of abuse, violence, and crime.”

Soto agreed, highlighting that across the state, charter school demographics mirror the traditional public school population.

“Especially in some of our most challenged communities, the charter school students reflect the communities where those schools are located,” Soto said.

According to Soto, among students attending charter schools, 56 percent are low-income, 52 percent are Hispanic, 15 percent are English language learners, 10 percent are students with disabilities, and 7 percent are black.

Help Charter Schools by Working With Parents, Removing Red Tape

Jorge Valdes, the newest board member appointed to the board in August, said a big concern for charter schools was insufficient facilities, based on his discovery from spending the past month visiting schools in his district.

He asked the panel how the board could help charter schools work through their local city councils to get the facilities they needed.

In response, Kiley said teamwork between the board and parents can effectively push for policy changes in city governments.

California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley speaks at a charter school forum hosted by the Orange County Board of Education in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2022. Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times

“If you mobilize enough parents [who live in the district], you’ll have an impact,” Kiley said. “[That] tends to make the decision makers look at things a little differently.”

Romero—who co-authored a state law in 2010 allowing parents of students in a low-performing school to convert the school into an independent charter school—criticized the current process for opening a charter school, saying it has become a “niche industry.”

She said “it often takes so much bureaucracy and legalese” that consultants can charge up to $100,000 to help write a charter school petition.

The former state senator suggested the board make it more feasible for grassroots groups to create new charter schools by setting up a donor fund for these institutions or connecting groups with resources through the California Charter School Association.

Former California Sen. Gloria Romero speaks at a charter school forum hosted by the Orange County Board of Education in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2022. Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times

Romero also suggested getting rid of the board’s requirement for these groups to file a memorandum of understanding since it is not required by the state to open a charter school.

Data from the state Department of Education showed a nearly 7 percent increase in Orange County’s charter school enrollment over the past year—from 20,861 students in the 2020–21 school year to 22,295 students in the following school year.

That’s also a 15 percent jump from the pre-pandemic enrollment of 18,893 students in the 2018–19 school year.

Orange County is home to 35 charter schools that serve more than 21,000 students, according to the board’s website.