District staff report on the charter petition is now on-line

The District staff's initial analysis of the charter petition is now out. From my initial review it looks very bad for my fellow LWIP parents to get the charter school. But it's no time to relax. I encourage you to read it yourself, sign the statement asking the board to vote against the charter petition, and speak out at the May 10th board hearing and the June 12th board meeting.

I will be providing my analysis of the staff report here in the coming days. In meantime, note that the report documents that the charter petition incorrectly claims it will save the District money. In fact, it will cost the District big money. The report also confirms my concerns that the charter school would cut out a large portion of the very Waldorf education it plans to offer if it comes up short on resources. The petition's plan to provide special education is also found to be woefully inadequate. It could be read that the District is warning the charter school that it doesn't have to lease it any facilities especially at the cut rate price the charter budgeted to pay. The report also makes a strong defense of the interests of the charter teachers and staff particularly when it comes to pay and benefits. Pay special attention to the bruising critique of the charter's failure to adequately address racial and ethnic diversity. Overall, the District confirms a significant portion of my analysis on this blog and even goes above and beyond several areas in ways I hadn't even thought of.

At this time the compassionate and respectful course of action for the charter petitioners would be to pull their petition and file it in the trash. It will save the District (and County Office of Education) much time, effort and scarce money over the coming weeks and months that could otherwise be spent as it is intended to be on our children in the classrooms and on the playgrounds.

Pulling the petition now would also defuse the growing animosity building against our beloved LWIP program. In fact, it would demonstrate that my fellow LWIP parents who follow the path of cooperation and compassion both walk the walk and talk the talk. If the petition is pulled now there is a great opportunity to begin rebuilding bombed out bridges with the other parents in the District. This would allow us to make a renewed case for why LWIP desperately needs more resources to achieve its educational goals next year. Perhaps a solution is to try the innovative approach of participatory budgeting with all 3 programs and the middle school like that used in Brazil, Venezuela and several places in the US to end the warfare over how our scarce resources are spent by the District.

The charter petition has hit the Valley like a fractious divorce in which the departing partner says you have to pay me alimony and child support in greater and greater amounts forever for all of the kids I will have after I leave you—even to the point of your bankruptcy—or I will sue. No family law judge would ever sign off on a settlement like that and the District shouldn't either.

Let's not get divorced. Let's stay together—as a single public school. Those that want a private school are free to find one. It's just that LWIP is not for sale.

We need you to turn out and join the approximately several hundred Valley residents who have already signed the petition opposing the charter proposal this Thursday May 10th at 5:30 in the campus multi-purpose room near the gym. If you haven't yet signed the petition there will be an opportunity to do so before the meeting begins. Get there early and save yourself a seat. It is going to be a hot time in the Valley that evening and I am not talking about the soaring temperature.