Community school charter approved

“We will still employ the people and buy the supplies and so on and when [the charter] becomes effective our spending will stop and the revenue will start going to them,” Anderson said.

Employees would be terminated from the district and hired the next day by the charter school. However, it is common for employees to take a year leave of absence from the sponsoring district, while still maintaining their seniority there, and taking that year to make sure the charter is on solid operational footing before quitting and officially hiring on at the charter school.

“It’s a little bit of a delicate dance to get everything in place so you’re ready to go,” he said.

The board voted to have D21 be the sponsoring district, subject to development of a written charter agreement. The completed agreement will have to come back to the school board for ratification.

WCS Principal Brian Goodwin sought the charter school status to protect his budget. Charter high schools get 95 percent of what a traditional high school gets.

He previously told the board he had always enjoyed the support of Superintendent Candy Armstrong, but with her expected retirement in a few years, he could not be sure that support would continue under a new superintendent.

“I think what we have is special, and this makes sure it’s there forever and ever,” Goodwin said earlier.

In response to the board’s decision, Goodwin said, “The Wahtonka Community School team is excited to step into this new role as a charter school. As we have done since our inception, our staff and volunteers will continue to offer an exceptional learning experience for all students that is inclusive, flexible, and inspiring.”

He said staff, students, and the charter school board spent extensive time and energy preparing, and have constructed the charter in such a way as to ensure the long term success and continuity of Wahtonka Community School.

“We want to thank our sponsor, North Wasco School District 21, for being supportive of this endeavor from day one. We will be hosting an open house in the near future to express our appreciation to the community,” he said.

“WCS is, and has always been, a community driven school which aims to teach real world problem solving skills while celebrating each student’s individuality.”

Students, staff and parents from WCS spoke, sometimes emotionally, to the school board May 31, describing dramatic turnarounds in students, who had floundered in traditional high schools but excelled at the project-based community school.

Board member Dean McAllister said last week that with the information he got at that May 31 meeting, “I feel I have enough information that this is good for the district.”

Board Chair Kathy Ursprung told Charter supporters, “I was really impressed with your presentation at our last meeting. It’s a very exciting prospect.”

After the vote, the audience gave a round of applause. Board member Aaron Bowman also resigned his position on the school board so he can focus on his position on the charter school board.

He said it took him five years to get on the school board, and he spent those years attending school board meetings. “Five years is a long time to sit in an audience, to not be able to vote.”

He said, “It taught me a great lesson about listening.”

He said one thing he heard was “a crazy idea by an amazing administrator on starting a community school,” he said of Goodwin.

The first application by WCS for charter school status was rejected as incomplete, a common occurance. The rejection qualified the school for a $100,000 state grant to make a stronger application. Goodwin said earlier the state grant would help “translate” the “radically different” project-based instructional methods and objectives at the school into more standard curriculum goals, to demonstrate how they meet state standards. The money was also used to pay for attorneys, accountants, staff training and travel.

WCS resubmitted that application earlier this year. It was again rejected – by the Oregon School Board Association, which reviewed the application on the school district’s behalf — but for such minor things that the application was resubmitted the next morning. It was accepted as complete that time.

Charter schools are public, semi-autonomous schools operated by parents, teachers and/or community members. The school operates under a “charter” or contract with the local school board.

Charter school board members are: Chair Aaron Bowman; Vice-Chair Bethany Ayers-McManus; and members Rebecca Anderson, Carrie Pipinich, Robert Freihl, Sara Viemeister and Jasper Moriarty.