Alert: CA Senate Education Committee to vote this Wednesday morning to close a loophole in charter law

This Wednesday June 13th the Senate Education Committee will be voting on AB 1172 (sponsored by Assemblyman Mendoza) which passed the Assembly last January 30th by a vote of 45 to 28. This bill would add a crucially needed sixth criteria by which a district may vote to deny a charter petition. This criteria would allow a district to deny a charter if it would have a demonstrable negative fiscal impact on the district. We know firsthand that despite the staff analysis that the charter would drain the District of $464,000 over 3 years the Board of Trustees was prohibited by section 47605 of the California Education Code from considering this fiscal impact. AB 1172 would close this huge loophole that forces school districts to approve charter schools they know will drain them of much needed tax revenue.

For this reasons we can expect the charter industrial complex to be lining up to stall, gut or kill this bill. It is urgent that those of us who care to avoid the threat of a charter school being imposed on other districts to contact our state Senator Mark Leno (916-651-4003 and 415-479-6612) to ask him to testify in support of AB1172 this Wednesday. You may also send emails to all the members of the Senate Education Committee asking them to vote in favor of AB1172. If you cannot write all 10 members at least write the chair Senator Lowenthal. Be sure to tell them about how our district faced a threat from a charter petition that would have drained our district of money when you call and email them.