ACLU Voices "Grave Reservations" About RVCS & MAP Discrimination

Click here to read the letter from the ACLU in which they express "grave reservations" about the proposed Ross Valley Charter School. The ACLU based its opinion on "publicly available documents," not on promises, rumors and assurances. Why was the ACLU concerned?

The MAP program has a "troubling history of ... discrimination." Click here to read about the history of this group, here to read their own statements about their plan not to help negotiate a peace at Manor, but to organize and become a charter to avoid district regulation, and here to read the discrimination report. 

As the ACLU says, "Rather than staying with Manor Elementary to make the MAP program more welcoming and responsive to the needs of English Language Learner students and students with disabilities, through the admission and enrollment procedures instituted by the District Superintendent, it appears that the leaders of MAP wish to export the exact program (and its students and teachers) that an independent investigator found was operating in a discriminatory manner into a Charter School which will necessarily have greater autonomy from District oversight (their emphasis)."

Note how MAP/RVC leaders are now discounting the ACLU with statements such as, "I normally like the ACLU, but they're wrong on this one." In other words, it's great for the ACLU to step in and help end discrimination and work for our constitutional rights in other places, but NOT IN MY BACKYARD! We're fine here - these aren't the droids you're looking for. 

Discrimination is real, it is happening here, and we need to work on fixing it and healing our own community.

It makes no sense to continue to rely on promises and assurances from the MAP/RVC community, for as the ACLU says, "many of the leaders of the MAP program are now apparently proponents of the charter school."

Can't we just have ONE GREAT FAIRFAX SCHOOL FOR FAIRFAX KIDS?

MAP's Status as an 'Alternative Program of Choice' has been Fraught for over 10 years

When current Superintendent Rick Bagley came aboard 18 months ago, he realized that RVSD, and/or MAP Leadership had not submitted their paperwork to the state since their inception 19+ years ago. The below document from the Manor Work Group shows that then RVSD Trustees (including current Ross Valley Charter Board members Conn Hickey and Sharon Sagar) felt MAP did not need to file such paperwork, as they were a school based program. Thus, Dr. Bagley changed MAP's official designation to match the ways MAP has been operating (as a Manor-based program) for 18 of its 19 years. 

The requirements for an "alternative program of choice" go beyond simply filling out a waiver. CA Department of Education requires an annual report to evaluate how the program is doing. It makes sense to report on how an alternative program is doing. Why did MAP leaders fail to assess their program for 18 years?!!! (Click here to read the California Department of Education (CDE) requirements for annual reports for an alternative program of choice) 

Click here to see the agenda item that details the votes and discussion around changing this designation. The item CLEARLY states that MAP was out of compliance.  "And since the program has not been in compliance with the statutory reporting requirements of this designation for the past seventeen years, it is questionable whether the program's current designation exists at all."

Perhaps some of the confusion was that MAP was not held accountable for this waiver and reporting requirements by the RVSD trustees as far back as 2005.  Check out the image of notes taken from a Manor Community Meeting in February 2005, and the response from RVSD, which was governed in part by then Trustees, and current Ross Valley Charter Board members, Conn Hickey and Sharon Sagar.  These notes detail the REASONS that MAP did not report but is in direct contradiction to the CDE requirements.  It states clearly on the CDE website:  The school district must annually evaluate such schools and programs.

Can we trust MAP and RVC leaders to run a charter when they were unable to comply with the requirements of running their program? 

We Can't Afford This!

Our cash-strapped District continues to spend a disproportionate amount of money and time on a program which benefits a small number of children (less than 10%). If you think your child is not being negatively impacted by the antics of a few, read on.

In the past three years, RVSD has spent over $112,000 dollars on legal fees related to MAP. This does NOT include fees spent on the current charter which will most likely add another $40,000 to $50,000 to the total.  This is money which cannot be spent on teacher salaries, librarians, classroom aids, shade structures, increased recess supervision, etc. Click here to see the legal fees spent through February 2015. 

In addition to the monetary cost to the district (did we say we can't afford this?), MAP/RVC has soaked up a disproportionate amount of staff time!  A legal review of MAP's policies began in 2012.  RVSD legal council determined that MAP's practice of gender balancing in enrollment, and the self-governance of MAP needed to end. MAP has been on the agenda for an average of SIX (out of 12) Board meetings a year, and in 2013, a whopping TEN meetings, including a special MAP/RVSD workshop in October where MAP leaders fought for gender balancing and to retain their district program status. During this meeting the inequities in ELL/IEP were discussed yet MAP leaders did absolutely NOTHING to recruit from these protected classes of children. They claim now it was the district's fault and responsibility to recruit but given that the MAP Board created their enrollment policies for the prior 17 years, it seems disingenuous.   Click here to see all the agenda items since 2012. 

WE CANNOT AFFORD THIS!  That money could be spent on all of our children instead of wasted on legal fees for a group of people that time and time again have refused to do what is best for ALL of our children.  And the bills will continue to skyrocket if the charter is approved.  Take action and email Mary Jane Burke and MCOE to urge them to deny the charter!

Information on Candidates for RVSD Board

Not sure who to vote for in the upcoming Ross Valley School Board election? Here's an article from the Marin IJ about the 5 candidates.

Interestingly, four of the five candidates believe that our current RVSD leadership is on the right track. New candidates Mark Reagan and Amy Blanchard seemed to agree with the voting records of incumbents Anne Capron and Annelise Bauer.

According to the IJ, the fifth candidate, Susie Bergen, said, "the district failed to support the MAP program sufficiently leaving MAP teachers 'no choice but to charter out.'"

Why Should I Care?

If you don't have kids, or your kids aren't at Manor, you may think this doesn't impact you, so, why should you care?

1. Ross Valley Charter will be using taxpayer dollars without the oversight of our democratically elected school Board. They will be overseen by their own, self-appointed Board. Click here to read why the state of Washington Supreme Court ruled charters (like Ross Valley Charter) unconstitutional.

2. Bullis, Bullis, & Bullis (those are three different articles for you to read). Once the door has been opened by approval at any level, the charter school can keep returning for more of what it "deserves," which, by law, is "reasonably equivalent" space. In Los Altos, they've been dealing with Bullis Charter School, founded by tech execs, which has cost their District millions, resulted in school closures, teacher layoffs, protracted legal battles, and less money for ALL the district kids. As one parent in Los Altos District said, "no good deed goes unpunished." We don't need an expensive charter in Ross Valley!

3. They've discriminated. Click here to read a bit about that. If you believe that discrimination, especially in public education, is wrong, then understand the 10+ year history of discrimination in MAP, which they will take with them with less oversight in a charter school.

4. Many of the same people who oversaw MAP when it was discriminatory are involved in the Ross Valley Charter, including current members of the MAP leadership council (click here to see the current MLC), all the MAP Teachers, former RVSD Trustees Conn Hickey and Sharon Sagar. Can we trust them now to do the right thing?

5. If the locate at Red Hill, the traffic impacts will be horrible! 

Take that, charter schools: Why a Washington court decision will force accountability to a movement that needs it badly

More on last Friday's historic Washington state Supreme Court ruling that charter schools are unconstitutional. Click here.

We do not need an expensive and burdensome charter school in our already cash-strapped district!

Let's shut the door on this nonsense ever coming to Ross Valley!

Let MCOE know that you oppose the RVC petition by emailing the MCOE Trustees c/o Superintendent Mary Jane Burke: marincoe@marinschools.org

Include the following:

1. RVC/MAP is no different than current RVSD programs, which are also aligned with Common Core and project based;
2. MAP has a long-standing history of discrimination which they will take with them;
3. Their financial projections are highly questionable due to unrealistic enrollment projections and an inaccurate assessment of the MAP waitlist.