Public Hearing on New Charter on Nov. 8

According to an email blast from Superintendent Shalee Cunningham, NUSD will hold a public hearing on the new charter proposed by North Bay Educational Foundation on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the district office.

Here's the text of Dr. Cunningham's email in its entirety:

In accordance with California Education Code 47605, the Novato Unified School District (NUSD) will be holding a public hearing on the provisions of the charter, at which time the Board of Trustees shall consider the level of support for the petition by teachers employed by the district, other employees of the district, and parents.

This public hearing will take place on Thursday, November 8, 2012, 6-8 pm, at the district office located at 1015 Seventh Street, Novato. Spanish translation will be available.

In the event community members are unable to attend the hearing, an email account has been established for those who prefer to send in their comments:  charter@nusd.org. 

The application, appendices and a summary analysis of petitioners is posted on the NUSD website under Proposed Charter School on the homepage. 

Following a complete review of the petition and the public hearing, the NUSD Board of Trustees shall either grant or deny the charter. The District will make this decision within 60 days of receipt of the petition unless the parties mutually agree to extend this time by up to an additional 30 days. The petition will be reviewed against specific criteria outlined in Education Code Section 47605 and applicable Board Policies.

The Board of Trustees of the school district shall not deny a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless it makes written factual findings, specific to the particular petition, setting forth specific facts to support one or more of the following findings:

(1)  The charter school presents an unsound educational program for the pupils to be enrolled in the charter school.

(2)  The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition.

(3)  The petition does not contain the number of signatures required by subdivision (a) of Ed Code 47605.

(4)  The petition does not contain an affirmation of each of the conditions described in subdivision (d) of Ed Code 47605.

(5)  The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of all of the 16 criteria described in 47605 (b)(5)(A) through (P).

Please contact me or Leslie Benjamin if you have any questions.

Thank you.