Final blow for charter school

The San Mateo County Board of Education voted 6-1 to deny the school a petition that would have kept it open for the fall. Although school organizers can appeal to the state, Aurora president Mark White said school officials already started the process of shutting its doors Tuesday night.

"We're out of time and we're out of sponsors," he said.

The county's decision to deny the charter came after little discussion last night. Rather, trustees opted to take the recommendation of Superintendent John Mehl. As first reported in the Daily Journal June 16, Mehl's report detailed a litany of academic shortcomings county officials found at the school over the past several weeks.

Even before last night's vote, White already knew the school was finally doomed. White got a copy of Mehl's scathing report last Thursday, just hours before the school's graduation ceremony was held. At the time, White decided not to share the news with students and parents.

"We didn't want to ruin the occasion," he said.

Since then, Aurora officials didn't need to wait for last night's vote to start closing up shop.

Only Trustee Ted Lempert opted not to vote to shut down the school. Lempert said he could not make such a decision in good conscious without exploring the benefits the alternative school might bring to some of the troubled students who attended it.

"Given the history of the school, it's common knowledge that it's been battered from the start," Lempert said.

Aurora officials thought the school's closure was a foregone conclusion, however, and were not prepared to address Lempert's concerns.

Although Aurora's petition for a charter described a school that is "comprehensive in scope, rich in design and adequately meeting all the requirements of a charter school petition," the county's report states that "it was found that the Aurora described in the petition document did not for the most part exist in reality."

The report also found that there was "insufficient evidence" showing that the school offered educational benefits like tutoring programs, high expectations of students, personalized learning plans and peer group work.

In addition, the county's Human Resources staff found that "two core teachers do not possess appropriate credentials."

Aurora was sent into a tailspin in April when the school was denied a charter by the Sequoia Union High School District.

A report by Sequoia Superintendent Pat Gemma earlier this year said Aurora was not only a financial liability, but that its academic standards are not up to snuff. In spite of the report, the district's board of trustees decided to grant a temporary one-year charter. Trustees backpedaled on that decision in April.

Since it was established in 1999, the San Carlos charter school has wrestled with a string of trials and tribulations.

There are just 80 students enrolled at Aurora High School. Since it was established, three other charter schools have popped up in the area, making recruitment difficult.

Yunmi Choi can be reached by e-mail at yunmi@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.