RAMONA -- Emphasizing a need to provide educational options, Ramona Unified School District trustees last night approved the district's first charter school, a humanities-based high school that will teach abstinence and religion in its historical context.
After more than three months of negotiations, district trustees rejected two conditions recommended by district staff and compromised on another, helping the Sun Valley Charter High School meet deadlines to open its doors to an anticipated 120 freshmen and sophomores in the fall.
Trustees in the 7,275-student district voted 4-1 to grant the charter, with Luan Rivera casting the opposing vote.
"It's my personal belief that it's unlikely this school will be successful," Rivera said after the board had negotiated over final issues for nearly three hours. "I'm concerned about the quality of the educational curriculum."
School organizer David Tarr, who is a history professor at National University, has proposed curriculum that would use history and English to provide context for other subjects, including science, technology, philosophy, government, math, arts, and family and community.
The family-and-community component is aimed at teaching students how to be self-reliant, for example, by teaching students gardening and cooking skills, Tarr said. Students would be allowed to spend one day each week at home, working on personal projects, taking field trips or exploring family history. The school also would include an independent-study component.
Tarr said he hopes to temporarily locate the school in a building being constructed in downtown Ramona at 800 Main St.
Charter schools are public schools that receive the same per-pupil funding from the state as other schools, but are exempt from many state and local education regulations.
Trustees voting in favor of the charter decided to reject district recommendations to allow district staff to approve the curriculum before the charter school could open, and to require the charter school to pay for all its uncovered special-education expenses.
"I think we need to stick our necks out a little bit," said trustee Mike Mercurio. "I want to see the charter school made a go . . . We need to be willing to take a risk here."
Trustees Mick Cupples, Bill Cox and Bob Hailey echoed Mercurio's stance, voting to compromise on the special-education condition by agreeing to allow the charter school to pay only a portion of the uncovered expenses for students with special needs in the district who choose to attend Sun Valley.
Eleanor Yang: (760) 752-6732; eleanor.yang@uniontrib.com
