In my post of December 10th, I summarized the discussions that were going on between the District and San Carlos Charter Learning Center (CLC). I won’t repeat all of the background info here, as you can read it in that post.
At last night’s school board meeting, the Board approved (by a 3-2 vote) two documents:
- The revised Charter submitted by CLC, the most important change of which is the fact that CLC will now be operated by a newly created non-profit, 501(c)3. entity. This will have the force of CLC being, in effect, a separate legal entity from the School District.
- A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which lays out other areas of the relationship between the District and CLC, such as facilities, reporting requirements, special education coordination, and other services provided by the District to CLC. The substance of the MOU is largely the same as the details I outlined in my earlier post.
Although this is a significant legal change, it reflects what I have referred to many times as mostly an “inside baseball” distinction. The school will largely operate as before and there would be minimal affect on the staff, students, or the overall programs offered. Most of the changes will be related to legal authority, responsibility, and liability. However, I did note in the meeting last night that both sides need to be particularly proactive to ensure that the general relationship between the entities remains close. There is a risk that this “legal separation” could make it all too easy for one group or the other to start feeling more “independent” despite the fact that it has been this mutual dependency (whether it be in the areas of fundraising, curriculum, facilities, et al) which has given us a strong relationship over the last 17 years, certainly as compared to most other charter schools in the state. The District continues to have oversight responsibility for CLC, and we should continue to cooperate in many areas and leverage each other’s strengths and assets. I believe this community will continue to view CLC as “part of” the San Carlos School District, regardless of our legal distinctions.
Thanks to all the folks at the District and CLC who worked so hard for over a year on making all of these changes happen. It is my hope that this new clarity will make operations of both entities smoother and more efficient.
