Cascade Locks charter meeting notes and Oregon charter school application requirments

June 16, 2011

Hood River County School District Conference Room

Present: George Fischer, Connie Kennedy, Mayra Walker, Liz Whitmore, Charlie Beck, and Terri Martz

Start time: 10:07 a.m.

Liz Whitmore: I am glad we were all able to meet this morning and would like to see us move forward. I can speak for the Board and for Charlie that we all want to see this charter school happen. I am hoping that today we can all figure out how we can move forward. I was unable to come to the Board meeting last week but I have been briefed on it and it seems we are at a bit of an impasse in terms of the expectations of the district and of your expectations. I was hoping that what we could do today is craft a plan on how we can help you.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: Before we do that I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to meet with you. I have had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Beck. I would like to go through with you what I have learned since I have been involved with this process and what it is I am asking for. I only brought three copies of this. I wrote this as a letter and you mentioned that it is the Board's desire to see a charter school and I can see from the Board minutes on December 8, 2010 where you supported a 6-12 charter school.

Connie read letter dated June 15 that was distributed to all Board members via regular mail on June 15, 2011.

Liz Whitmore: So Connie, I am going to stop you right there. You know it is not going to get us to where we need to go in hashing through this. You want a charter school and we need to figure out what needs to get done. I appreciate you putting together all this information, but it really is irrelevant.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: So you are no interested in listening.

Liz Whitmore: What I am saying is I want to be proactive and get us to where we need to go. Alright? A lot has gone on. I know that both Charlie and Terri probably have their own perspective of it. I mean we can hash this out, but I don't think it is productive. I don't think it is going to get your kids into school, in a charter school. The Board wants you to be successful and help you, so let's figure out a way to make that happen. So Charlie, how can we make this happen?

Charlie Beck: Well, I feel that we have been very clear about what we are looking for. I have bits and starts in making that happen. I have materials from Bob that moved us way down the path. The difficulty was that it wasn't complete. What we asked was that the material be provided for the classes. What we received was great, it just didn't cover all of the classes. We believe that the, whatever you guys want to call it, we need to see what I call, and what most people would call, a scope and sequence tied to the state content standards, so the students at Cascade Locks are going to meet the minimum requirements of the state. Again, this is just a reiteration of a conversation with you and I don't know how to say it differently. That is what needs to happen and I have had an opportunity to talk with folks all over the state that have said that is the minimum level of expectation they have when they have a charter application in front of them. So that is where we are. Again, we don't need to rehash the past, but I believed in May when I talked to Connie that this is what was going to happen. We are still waiting for that to happen. That position has not changed and nor do I see it to change. So, that is kind of where we are. I can provide you with copies of the materials that have been put together and what classes that you gave us with scope and sequence for is wonderful and you have tied them to the content standards and it looks great, but the difficulty was that they weren't done for all of the courses and that is what we need and we don't even need the electives and things like that. We just need to see the core content courses. There are pieces there that are middle school and pieces there that are high school and what we need is the 6th through whatever grades you are going to go through, content standards. I can get copies of those if you don't have them so you can kind of see the work that was done and my conversations with Bob were great. You just need this information for all the classes. Let me grab that.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: I have that.

George Fischer: Wait a minute before you leave. I want to say something. Go ahead and sit down.

Charlie Beck: Let me grab my stuff. It's my turn to talk.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: This is what Bob provided. Here's right out of the book. This is right out of the book. All you have to do is buy the textbooks.

Charlie Beck: This is the material that was provided for us.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: It is right here what Terri provided. You have to buy the textbooks. Here is the teacher's edition. The scope and sequence is right here in the back. It is copied out of a textbook. In order for us to provide that, we have to be able to buy the textbooks and copy the materials. As James Sims said in the meeting and if I had been able to have the opportunity to respond, he is absolutely right. It is not perfect or necessarily tied to the state standards but it is teachers that sit down and write the scope and sequence. And teachers, once you have and you hire the teachers, basically, I can give you similar things from my school district if you want me to just copy them from Nestucca Valley and I can show you how we do it. This has to do with language arts, math, science and social studies, this right here. It's hard work. It's not relevant.

Liz Whitmore: Connie, I am not an educator.

Connie Kennedy Buttacio: So you don't know what you are being told.

Liz Whitmore: We hired our superintendent to lead our district. Charlie is very clear on charter schools and what other districts are requiring. Our Board supports him in what he is requesting, so I think you need to figure this out with him.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: What I am saying to you, is it is not working out with him, nor is he cooperating. You are saying one thing and all we need is a scope and sequence. You are talking about buying a textbook and copying materials. You are making unreasonable demands. This is what the state gave us. This is what they went through. This is the rubric that they used to judge the charter proposal. There are 32 or 33 elements they judged and only four are deficient. In those four places that they found deficiencies, my letter, my last letter that I gave to the Board states how we would meet those. If that is not enough information, I can provide more. We have an impasse here because what we are being asked to do is unreasonable. Other charter schools and other superintendents don't request this. It is time to stop the stalling.

Liz Whitmore: Nobody is stalling.

Charlie Beck: That is not accurate. I don't know how to respond to that. The expectations for a school district to approve a charter is the expectation to see their curriculum tied to the state requirements and that is the minimum level of expectations and I am sorry that they haven't done that, but that has not been done and we can't in good conscience approve the charter with no indication or accountability in what is required. I disagree, though I am not going to argue is not accurate.

Liz Whitmore: And how can they honor this in her stating that they can't do this without purchasing textbooks?

Charlie Beck: The scope and sequence isn't a textbook thing. The scope and sequence is when you design a charter school, your charter school is designed around how you would teach. So this is work that should have been done when the initial conversation started about what is this charter going to look like. I am sorry that this district didn't have a scoring rubric for a charter application. Most school districts do and are very clear in the scoring rubric for a charter application is the scope and sequence required before it can be approved.

Mayra Walker: DO you have a copy of the Hood River Valley scope and sequence?

Charlie Beck: It's not relevant because you can copy those.

Mayra Walker: Well I would never copy it but I would like to see it to get an idea.

Charlie Beck: They are putting those together.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: I asked Terri on May 11th to send me the scope and sequences for classes 7th through 12th so I could see what the district is referring to. I have copies of what she sent me. She sent me course catalogs. Am I being asked to put together a course catalog for this? I don't know. What is this? These are some things copied out of textbooks. This might be close to one. This is a test. Am I supposed to provide the test materials? This is what she sent me. This comes as close to a scope and sequence as I can see.

George Fischer: Do you believe that in your position that you are to follow the policy set forth by the School Board? That are set forth by the Boards before you? Is it your responsibility to follow the policies?

Charlie Beck: It is.

George Fischer: Thank you. It says right here in your own policy 1620, if you read beneath the eligibility criteria for Board approval, the proposal must meet the requirements of Oregon revised statutes of Oregon, administrative rules, Board policies and regulations. Policy 1620. Read your own policy. The description is what you are supposed to do. The curriculum of a public charter school including whether or not state adopted materials are used. So you can read everything in there and nowhere does it say that scope and sequence is a requirement in your own policy. So it seems a little extreme and I guess if you do follow by your own policies and if you think policy means anything to you, then you should follow the policy. It was written for your Board. This came off of your website today. It is right there. If you are going to require more than what is required, then it should have been written. Nowhere does it say that in the Oregon State Board of Education's handbook requirements. It is not in your policy requirements. Why are you asking for more than what is required by your policy?

Charlie Beck: Policies are the minimum level of what we do. My job is to make a recommendation to the Board that gives assurances that the state standards will be met by the charter school application. That is my job. My job is to make sure that students for the five years of that agreement are going to receive an appropriate education. I cannot do that based on what we have here.

George Fischer: Based on this statement, it doesn't say that we have to do more than what is required by the Oregon revised statutes. This is what your Board set up as the baseline for the approval of an application. So your Board decided this for you. So you can recommend whatever you want but your Board has to follow by what they approve.

Charlie Beck: I believe they have already made that decision.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: ODE has four areas where they want more information. I would be glad to work with Mr. Beck on making sure that we have met those four requirements. Part of it is that you have to have the textbooks. One of the things that we have set up is an opportunity for teachers to go to a week long professional development so if you have any questions about our curriculum and what textbooks would be used for the different schools, than that portion isn't going to happen until July. There is another one that we can use if you saw what I laid out for the curriculum.

Liz Whitmore: So how can they create their scope and sequence after she just said they can't do that without purchasing their textbooks? How can we help them do that?

Mayra Walker: Before you answer that question, I have a thought. You said something about you didn't want to approve the school because he wouldn't know how we would conduct our curriculum and how we would pass and everything. We are a charter school so Hood River County School District has complete control over our charter school. Correct?

Charlie Beck: Well we have control over renewing the charter after five years.

Mayra Walker: Ok. So at any point before we open you can say alright, we will approve the charter school with a contingency that by the first day of school you have this scope and sequence in our office. Is that correct?

Charlie Beck: You can write that in the contract that would quantify that.

Mayra Walker: Ok, so because if you don't have the scope and sequence to the Board and approved by the first day of school, you can null and void the contract. Is that correct?

Charlie Beck: Technically yes.

Mayra Walker: Ok, thank you. Now you may go on.

Connie Kennedy: If you are talking scope and sequence and it sounds like we aren't, we are talking about four errors in language arts, social studies, science and math. And we are talking about 6th grade, 7th, grade, 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th and 12 grade, you have four times seven is 35 documents that are about this thick starting with the back of the textbooks and we can start working through that and tie that to the state standards. It takes teachers, it takes materials and I am going to say this again. This is just another stalling technique. My test scores are certainly adequate and Bob's are to.

Liz Whitmore: There is no stalling technique going on. We have spoken to this before and I know Charlie has spoken to this. We would like to see you be successful with a charter school at Cascade Locks. This Board is committed to that. Our superintendent is requiring information. It has been months that this has been going on. I feel like we have lost time here. How can they do this without purchasing textbooks?

Charlie Beck: I think the simplest way is to get the Oregon standards and use those as your guide as to list what actually should be taught and you go through the standards and take what curriculum you need to teach that and what the sequence of teaching that is.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: Curriculum comes in textbooks and until we start in those areas. Who does that? The Board doesn't do that work. The superintendent doesn't do that work. Teachers do that work.

Charlie Beck: I am not going to argue.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: You know that is how this happens. Teachers do that work. It doesn't do us any good for us to hand teachers a couple of notebooks full of stuff and say here it is. Teachers have to spend their time to research the standards themselves. My teachers work with other teachers in the county and come up with these documents that say where they are going to teach what and what books they are going to use. I am looking through each darn standard. This is ours right here and if that is what they want I certainly can put this disk on here and change Nestucca Valley and put this districts name on it and you will have it. And then you just have to use the same textbooks I have used in Nestucca Valley. If that is what it takes. And then you can have your own notebooks that say Cascade Locks. But the exercise if fruitless and you know it. Teachers need to do that work.

Liz Whitmore: Well, then we are at an impasse then.

George Fischer: Well it is real simple. You can abide by the state laws and policy or?

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: I know that you support your superintendent and you should support your superintendent. I just want it clear that if that is what they want then we can go through that and use the textbooks that I use at Nestucca Valley. And you know what will happen then because those are geared to 2007 and that is what Terri sent me too. They are going to come back and say the standards have changed and we are now using the common core standards because the state is just in the midst of adopting the common core standards with the national standards. And then they will want me to do that. This is just another stalling technique.

George Fischer: Well if you want to read the requirements of what we need to provide…

Connie Kennedy: If this is what you want I have got it right here. All I have to do is change the name. It's right here.

Charlie Beck: It would have to be the curriculum that you would use in Cascade Locks with the scope and sequence that they intend to use. Manufacturing something would not work.

George Fischer: Can you point out to me in the state ORS's where it says that we have to do that?

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: I asked for a copy of this, show me what you've got. I asked for that May 11th and you won't give it to me.

Charlie Beck: I think at this point in time the only solution I see is that if we can agree, I have contacted Peter Miller who is the charter school person for three counties in Central Oregon and he has agreed to come and work with you through the process of the application. If you would like to work with Peter ok. I believe that Connie has established that she no longer cares to work with me. Peter can walk you through the process and help you do a charter school application that would be appropriate.

Mayra Walker: Ok, are you asking us to redo the charter application? Is that what you are saying?

Charlie Beck: I would like to know just what it is. Now we are talking about do we intend to take this application which has been denied twice and take the curriculum piece out of it and put this curriculum piece in it and then leave the rest of the application intact? Do we intend to insert the materials that we received this spring on facilities and finance. I don't know. Right now I have no indication. We are going to have to have something that we can then give our Board for them to thoughtfully consider before we can approve it. Right now I get little chunks and pieces of this is what we would like to do and this is what we would like to do. We are going to have to have something. What are we doing? Are we going back to the old application? Are we going back and changing words in the old application or are we going back to the old application? Are we using the curriculum pieces of it? I have heard that they want to do something and then something else in terms of the finances, so do we need to go back and look at finances?

Mayra: I don't think, you know it was just mentioned doing something. I don't think that is written in stone.

Charlie Beck: That is what we need to do. We need to get to a place where we have something that says this is what the charter school is going to look like. Then we can take that to the Board. That there is….

Mayra Walker: You have that except for the scope and sequence. Can you answer me this? How long would it take to get a copy of HRV's scope and sequence?

Charlie Beck: If you would like to do it through the public information act, we would be happy to do that. We would charge you for that and make that happen.

Mayra Walker: And how much do you charge and it has already been over a month which was the legal two weeks.

Charlie Beck: We would do the cost of researching and copies.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: So you should have all that on the district website. Terri told me you did. We would just need a cost per page.

Charlie Beck: Well that is not exactly what said. You have been pretty loose with what I say.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: Well that is what Terri said.

Mayra Walker: So you still haven't answered my question. How long would it take?

Charlie Beck: I don't know. I can tell you that we will start the process. If we are doing the Freedom of Information Act we will start that process as soon as I get the request in writing.

George Fischer: You have to do it within two weeks.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: You heard from me on June 8th that this is what I wanted.

Charlie Beck: Actually, that is not exactly how the conversation went. Now that that is it, it you want me to do that I will.

Mayra Walker: Well if it's there, I don't see why it takes so long to print us out a copy. Even if it's one sheet, so we know what.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: It's not just one sheet.

Mayra Walker: Well I know, but we need to know exactly what you want.

Charlie Beck: What I am offering is someone who has the expertise in putting a charter school together, that we will hire a consultant to represent the district in what we expect as what you will hand us when we go to the Board and ask for approval. Peter has agreed to do that. If this communication with the district is where we have fallen down, I have given Peter permission to set the criteria upon accepted charter school applications in the state. When Peter comes and says this is what a charter school would look like, then we can move forward. That way we are not accusing, we are not dealing in history. You can show him what you have and he will show you how to make it an appropriate charter school application.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: And so Peter is who?

Charlie Beck: Peter works for High Desert ESD. He evaluates charter schools.

George Fischer: So he would be working for Hood River County School District.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: And so we have had the best in the state and now Mr. Beck wants this Peter from High Desert ESD to come evaluate us. I don't think that is going to move things forward. The first letter that I wrote to the Board gave you all gave you all of the information that you asked for. We are just talking about some friend of Charlie's versus some friend of mine, that my friend wasn't involved in this. My friend was involved in this.

Liz Whitmore: You weren't involved in all of this.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: No I wasn't involved in all of this. But certainly his friend is involved now so it is just one more stalling technique.

George Fischer: This doesn't get away from the fact what the state and your own policy requires of us. You are requiring more than your policy says. You can make up whatever reason you want, go back to when Hood River County School District wrote your own charter school and see what was required at that time. It is the same policy. Scope and sequence wasn't required when you established your charter school. Why, now I understand that the past Boards have set up policy and policy is part of the Board requirement for everyone else in the school district to follow. Your policy directs Charlie to do what he is supposed to do. You have the ultimate control over the whole situation. Therefore you have the ultimate responsibility for whatever transpires. So all your own policies, it is real easy to allude to another question and that is the problem we have had all along is it goes from one question to the next. It started out in the beginning when we applied for our application. When we turned it in, we never had any recommended suggestions from the school district on the three items that were in deficient in your minds. So you effectively took away our right to improve our application and that again is part of the policy and state law that is required. And then you say that you want to work with us and yet you don't want to give us information but there is a reason it takes too long to get that or then. It doesn't do me any good to argue with that if you don't care to follow policies.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: So you have two proposals on the table. One requires us to meet the deficiencies or now a second proposal to spend another whole year and start all over again with a friend of Charlie's.

Charlie Beck: Peter is not a friend of mine for dramatic effect.

Liz Whitmore: I think we just also need to remember that the proposal that Mr. Dunton and Charter Starters helped develop was also denied.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: That is what I am saying. Let me fix the four areas they found deficient.

Mayra Walker: Now I would like that before you go further, they denied sponsoring the application. They didn't deny the application. I would like that noted in the minutes. Because they didn't come and say your application is denied, they just denied sponsoring it. They approved our application to begin with. They just denied sponsoring it. At no point have they denied our application.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: And again if all you need is a scope and sequence and that is what you want, I can give them a scope and sequence and then they will come back with I don't know where are and I don't know what you want and they will find another excuse. I can give you scope and sequence and then you will say that's not enough.

George Fischer: Liz, did you read the state superintendents letter to Charlie?

Liz Whitmore: Yes, Charlie shared that with me.

George Fischer: And you have seen that the State Board of Education basically recommended that you get back in touch with us and try to work something out on this charter application?

Liz Whitmore. Yes, we are here doing that again.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: But your proposal is that we start over again. ODE found only four deficiencies and you want us to start over again.

Charlie Beck: That is an inaccurate representation.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: And then I am told you want scope and sequence, that is right here. First of all, make it reasonable. This is not reasonable. If all you want is a scope and sequence, I can give it to you. There will be no name on it and you will have it and then I will hear, oh, and now you will want this, this and this.

George Fischer: Charlie, what is the general operating procedure for starting a new charter school in this district? How do you have that done and how do you get your scope and sequence and who does that work?

Charlie Beck: Generally if you are going to have a new course, you come up with course statements and of scope and sequence. And then you purchase curriculum that matches what your expectations are and tie them to state standards.

Mayra Walker: Do you purchase textbooks to look through? I mean they have to choose the textbooks before they go on with core.

George Fischer: Who does that work?

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: They have to have curriculum materials.

George Fischer: You don't want to answer?

Charlie Beck: Yes I would. Generally the curriculum department and administration do that work.

George Fisher: So you are saying the teachers are never involved with that work?

Charlie Beck: Teachers are certainly involved with modifying curriculum but not in putting together to match how they want to teach, but teachers are usually not involved with the actual putting together the proposal and scope and sequence and what is going to happen. Teachers do much work around changing scope and sequence and as standards change, work on changing the curriculum to meet changing standards.

George Fischer: So you are asking for us to do more than what you normally do. Because you just stated that teachers work with administration and the curriculum staff to do part of the work but then the teacher has to align it to state standards.

Charlie Beck: No, that is not what I said.

Mayra Walker: No, that is not what he said. He said if things change then teachers go in and change it to meet the curriculum.

George Fischer: The teachers have to align that curriculum to the state standards.

Charlie Beck: I am not going to play word games.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: A few years ago Regina Rafelson at HRVHS offered to teach speech. (inaudible information on Union Baker not being qualified) We emailed each other back and forth. She was a capable teacher who designed a program. After she designed the program, we bought materials. I know how to do this and I know how to provide alternatives for kids. You remember Jessica, I hired Jessica. That program at HRVHS is now CAL. You remember all of that. I have done alternative programs at just about everywhere I have been. I worked with vice principals. I had no scope and sequences. I know that is conversation you need to have with Mr. Beck and not with me.

Liz Whitmore: Unfortunately there is no conversation. Our Board brought Charlie here to this school district to be the leader and to be our guidance. We are following his direction on working on making this school district one of the best in the country. No, we are not going to be doing things the way we have done them exactly in the past. That was our hope in bringing him here.

George Fischer: Do you believe you are following your own Board policies and abiding by state laws?

Liz Whitmore: George, you know…

George Fischer: Yes or no?

Liz Whitmore: I believe the guidance that we are receiving from our superintendent is the direction we should be going.

George Fischer: I didn't ask you

Liz Whitmore: I am not going to get in a discussion about policy.

George Fischer: I have been extremely loyal in trying to work with the Hood River County School District. I have asked for help repeatedly from the beginning since the very beginning. This is extremely one sided.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: Will you have Terri send a copy of that to everyone on the Board?

George Fischer: And Terri when you get done with that can I have a copy of the minutes verbatim?

Terri: I will make sure they let me do that.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: You have the opportunity to have a charter school.

Liz Whitmore: Provide the information that our superintendent is asking for. The ball is in your court.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: So even though and you are going to stick to that even though I have shown you all of what I have, you are going to stick to that. I am asking that you approve this and just proceed. And if you are telling me that you will not allow us to just fix the deficiencies then I am telling you that that is not possible.

Liz Whitmore: I cannot speak for the Board, but I have not received any direction from individual Board members that they want to go in a direction other than what our superintendent is recommending.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: I would like the opportunity to present to the Board just exactly what I am presenting today.

Liz Whitmore: You did that at last board meeting.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: I would like the opportunity again.

Liz Whitmore: I will have to find out if that is appropriate for a board meeting.

Connie Kennedy Buttaccio: Thank you for your time.

George Fischer: Good Day.

Mayra Walker: Thanks.

Charlie Beck: Thank you for coming.

End time 10:54 am

Verbatim minutes by Terri Martz/Board Secretary

[b]Supplemental information.[/b]

Oregon statutues on Scope and Sequence and charter school applications.

Oregon statues definition of scope and sequence:

" "Scope" means depth and breadth of course content as evidenced through a planned course statement including content outline, applicable state content standards where appropriate, course goals and student outcomes. [2005 c.674 §1; 2007 c.567 §1]

" "Sequence is the order in which the lessons are taught

The citation for the charter application requirement:

338.045 Proposal requirements; technical assistance; buildings. (1) An applicant seeking to establish a public charter school shall submit a written proposal to a school district board.

(2) The proposal shall include, but need not be limited to:

(a) The identification of the applicant;

(b) The name of the proposed public charter school;

(c) A description of the philosophy and mission of the public charter school;

(d) A description of the curriculum of the public charter school;

(e) A description of the expected results of the curriculum and the verified methods of measuring and reporting objective results that will show the growth of knowledge of students attending the public charter school and allow comparisons with public schools;

(f) The governance structure of the public charter school;

(g) The projected enrollment to be maintained and the ages or grades to be served;

(h) The target population of students the public charter school will be designed to serve;

(i) A description of any distinctive learning or teaching techniques to be used in the public charter school;

(j) The legal address, facilities and physical location of the public charter school, if known;

(k) A description of admission policies and application procedures;

(L) The statutes and rules that shall apply to the public charter school;

(m) The proposed budget and financial plan for the public charter school and evidence that the proposed budget and financial plan for the public charter school are financially sound;

(n) A description of the financial management systems for the public charter school and a plan for having the financial management systems in place at the time the school begins operating;

(o) The standards for behavior and the procedures for the discipline, suspension or expulsion of students;

(p) The proposed school calendar for the public charter school, including the length of the school day and school year;

(q) A description of the proposed staff members and required qualifications of teachers at the public charter school;

(r) The date upon which the public charter school would begin operating;

(s) The arrangements for any necessary special education and related services provided pursuant to ORS 338.165 for children with disabilities who may attend the public charter school;

(t) Information on the manner in which community groups may be involved in the planning and development process of the public charter school;

(u) The term of the charter;

(v) The plan for performance bonding or insuring the public charter school, including buildings and liabilities;

(w) A proposed plan for the placement of public charter school teachers, other school employees and students of the public charter school upon termination or nonrenewal of a charter;

(x) The manner in which the program review and fiscal audit will be conducted; and

(y) In the case of an existing public school being converted to charter status:

(A) The alternative arrangements for students who choose not to attend the public charter school and for teachers and other school employees who choose not to participate in the public charter school; and

(B) The relationship that will exist between the public charter school and its employees, including evidence that the terms and conditions of employment have been addressed with affected employees and their recognized representative, if any.

(3) In addition to the requirements of subsection (2) of this section, the school district board may require any additional information the board considers relevant to the formation or operation of a public charter school.

338.055 Approval process; public hearing; evaluation criteria; notice of decision; fees prohibited; timeline extensions. (1) Within 60 days of receipt of a proposal submitted under ORS 338.045, the school district board shall hold a public hearing on the provisions of the proposal.

(2) The school district board shall evaluate a proposal in good faith using the following criteria:

(a) The demonstrated, sustainable support for the public charter school by teachers, parents, students and other community members, including comments received at the public hearing held under subsection (1) of this section;

(b) The demonstrated financial stability of the public charter school, including the demonstrated ability of the school to have a sound financial management system in place at the time the school begins operating;

(c) The capability of the applicant, in terms of support and planning, to provide comprehensive instructional programs to students pursuant to an approved proposal;

(d) The capability of the applicant, in terms of support and planning, to specifically provide, pursuant to an approved proposal, comprehensive instructional programs to students identified by the applicant as academically low achieving;

(e) The extent to which the proposal addresses the information required in ORS 338.045;

(f) Whether the value of the public charter school is outweighed by any directly identifiable, significant and adverse impact on the quality of the public education of students residing in the school district in which the public charter school will be located;

(g) Whether there are arrangements for any necessary special education and related services for children with disabilities pursuant to ORS 338.165; and

(h) Whether there are alternative arrangements for students and for teachers and other school employees who choose not to attend or who choose not to be employed by the public charter school.