"We do not have an intent to occupy"Shirley ES"in the 2022-23 school year." - Mark Kleger-Heine, COTW
Like other public schools that have had their campuses invaded by the Citizens of the World nationwide chain of charter schools, the community at Shirley Avenue Elementary School fought back. The loss of space through PROP-39 meant that rooms used to provide essential services would be lost, harming students in a school where 84.7% of the students are considered to be socioeconomically disadvantaged. This included space used to provide special education services to the 17.2% of its student body that have disabilities.
While this public school community did not have the backing of the LAUSD bureaucracy, it continued to fight even as Citizens of the World took over space to which they were not entitled to receive. They endured attacks on their First Amendment rights, harassment from LAUSD officials, and a lack of support from their elected representatives, but still, they fought on.
Last winter it looked like victory was at hand when Citizens of the World announced to their own constituents that it would be moving to a private facility for the next school year. However, the Shirley community knew not to begin counting their chickens until the move was made official. The crack in the shell came this week with the charter school notifying the LAUSD that it "will not be occupying [the] facility" and "will be moving... to a private facility."
While this is great news for the students of Shirley, it is not the end of the fight. The charter school was assessed $34,625.44 by the district for over-allocation fees after they took more space than they were entitled to receive. When paid, approximately 90% of these fees will be given directly to the Shirley community. As of April 8, 2022, the charter school, which is backed by Hollywood money, had only paid $168.
Without explanation, the LAUSD Charter School Division reduced the overallocation assessment last month to $10,388. This represents a loss of approximately $21,813 for the students at Shirley. These students will be significantly impacted by this loss and their community is promising to fight to have these funds restored. Citizens of the World needs to pay complete restitution for the harm that they have caused.
LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin represents Shirley on the school board but has refused to answer questions about the past-due overallocation fees. Board President Kelly Gonez has also remained silent about the issue. Voters should remember this as they complete their ballots as both incumbents are asking for another four-year term.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He is an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and serves as the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.