The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Sunnyvale parents push to start charter school

Public set to discuss topic in 30 days

By Justin Berton

A group of Sunnyvale parents filed a petition to start a charter school at the Oct. 1 Sunnyvale School District board meeting, hoping to become the first charter school in Santa Clara County.

The Board now has 30 days to hold a public forum on the topic.

After the hearing, the five board members will have another 30 days to either accept or deny the proposal

If approved, the school would be named the Sunnyvale Intensive Learning Center and would allow parents to create their own curriculum and choose their own teachers. It would remain a publicly funded school.

One of the early sticking points on the proposal is where the school would go.

Proponents would like to use Hollenbeck Elementary School, but the site is currently being rented by a private school. The district currently charges $460,000 for rent, a price the district expects to increase once the lease expires at the end of the school year.

"We're anticipating half a million," board president Linda Kilian said. "That money goes right into our general fund and is dispersed to all of our students."

Parents for the charter school said they would barter volunteer services, including their expertise in computers in exchange for the Hollenbeck site. Kilian said the group would have realized the site was a potential deal breaker had they worked closer with the district officials.

"We are not opposed to charter schools," Kilian said. "But I'm disappointed to see that they did this without working the administration."

Some parents who came to the meeting were angered by remarks by proponents for the charter quoted in an article in the Mercury News. Those who spoke at the meeting felt parents for the charter school were unfairly criticizing the district.

Jeff Richey, a parent of a Cherry Chase Elementary School student, and one of the leaders for the charter, was quoted as saying, "People are very disappointed in the middle school both academically and with the lack of accountability. The students seem to drift and wander there."

"I suspect they thought they would have a lot of positive response," Kilian said. "Instead, they had met some very angry administrators and parents."

One parent suggested the charter school proponents become more active in the schools where their children attend school, citing that her Sunnyvale school has 400 parent volunteers compared to the 360 students at the school.

Though the reception to the charter idea was cool, officials said they will read the proposal with scrutiny before making a decision.

"Everyone on the board is perfectly willing to look at this and judge it on its merits," Kilian said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 7, 1998.
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