Willie J. Frink College Prep School approved
The Panama Buena Vista School District gave the green light for its first charter school, however, there is still a long way to go.
Transcript
00:00 Panama Buena Vista Union School District gave the green light for its
00:03 first charter school this week. But there is still a long way to go before
00:07 that school becomes a reality. Here's 23 abc's Veronica Morley with the next
00:12 steps in this process. The Panama Buena Vista Union School District Board of
00:17 Trustees approving its first charter school. However, there are still several
00:21 questions and steps that need to be taken before this school is ready to
00:25 open its doors. The Willie J. Frank College Prep School has been approved
00:29 by the Panama Buena Vista Union School Board, but it comes with contingencies.
00:33 We could do a perfect petition and we're not going to make everyone happy.
00:36 According to a review of the petition, the charter school has inconsistencies
00:40 within its budget and needs to better outline specifics about transportation,
00:45 curriculum and employment. Arlena Waller, who helped draft the charter
00:48 petition, is confident, though, that they can address these concerns. That is
00:52 why the attorney, Miss Brown, presented and said these things can be worked out.
00:56 They're as confident as we are. It's just about finding our happy medium. If
01:00 we're done great. If we need more time, we'll take it. Our goal is to get it
01:04 right. During a meeting Tuesday, a handful of attendees who don't approve
01:08 of the charter school in its current form asked trustees to postpone the
01:12 vote until more work is done. I challenge you as a school board to
01:16 push back on the current regulatory framework for charter schools as it
01:20 stands today. However, those in support of the school say the current school
01:24 model doesn't work for them, and they prefer something more like the charter
01:27 school. The Panama Buena Vista School District like they have some really
01:31 good intentions. They have a lot of programs out there that promote
01:36 education, that promote reading, that promote literacy. But it's broad. I
01:42 believe that the Panama Buena Vista Union School District understood very
01:48 well that we came out of a pandemic and Children were already, especially
01:55 black Children in a state of urgent need. While the review team cited 2021
02:00 22 assessment comparison data showing that african american students in the
02:04 Panama Buena Vista Union School District outperformed students attending
02:08 other charter schools, they still supported having options like Willie J
02:12 Frank College Prep within the public education system. We have to normalize
02:17 giving Children the options that they need in cultural spaces that they need
02:22 because it benefits everyone.
02:24 And Waller says that she hopes to have an M. O. U. Dissent of the district
02:29 within 30 days for 23 ABC News. I'm Veronica Morley connecting you.
02:33 Now this all comes as support for charter schools in the Golden States at
02:39 an all time high, according to a new statewide poll by the California
02:43 Charter Schools Association that was released last month. Support for
02:47 charter schools they claim have reached 55%. That's up eight points since 2020.
02:52 Additionally, that survey reportedly found that charter schools enjoy
02:56 majority support among black, white and latino voters, especially spanish
03:01 speaking latinos, where that number hits 63%.