What's Your Crystal Ball Telling You About the Charter Petition?

On its homepage, Novato Unified School District has placed in the center, right underneath the caption for the centerpieced photo, static information regarding the proposed charter school. This coming Tuesday, Dec. 11, is being touted as a “Charter School Workshop – Staff Report.” Making its way up the calendar is a list for the same meeting. It’s noted as a “Special Board Meeting – Charter School Workshop – Staff Report.”

If you click the link, you’re taken to the agenda for the meeting. I’ve saved you the trouble of clicking by uploading a PDF of the agenda. I’m not really a reliable source, though, so you might still want to check out NUSD’s website. If you’re looking for a copy of the staff report, it’s not posted. Given that it wasn’t posted 72 hours in advance along with the agenda, I’m guessing that it won’t be provided to the Board of Trustees until 6 p.m. on Dec. 11, at the meeting itself.

Not only does that mean that the trustees don’t get to see it in advance, but we don’t get to, either. Will there be copies of the report provided to audience members at the same time it is to the trustees? Will it be posted online at the same moment it’s given to trustees so those playing along at home, of which I suspect many will be, can see it, too? As if knowing what the district is going to recommend to the trustees isn’t suspenseful enough, right?

Let’s try to play a game with this post. Let’s try not to comment on what you think the district should recommend regarding the proposed charter. And let’s try not to persuade anyone else to your point of view. Let’s just try to answer two questions:

1. Do you think the district will recommend the board approve or deny the charter petition?
2. Are you going to be at the meeting on the 11th to hear the staff report?

Two questions. Wanna play?