Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

OC Dept. Of Education Recommends Approving OCSA Charter -- With Conditions

Hundreds of OCSA supporters packed into a Feb 5. meeting of the Orange County Board of Education in Costa Mesa. Chava Sanchez / LAist
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

We've been telling you all week about the battle between the Santa Ana Unified School District and the Orange County School of the Arts over the terms of the prestigious school's charter renewal.

Now, the staff of the Orange County Department of Education has weighed in -- and it's not entirely good news for OCSA.

OCSA appealed to the county Board of Education when Santa Ana Unified said in December that it would renew the school's charter on the condition that it address concerns over admissions policies and fundraising practices. OCSA took that conditional renewal as a denial of its charter and asked the county to become its charter authorizer.

On Friday, the county Department of Education staff recommended to the board that it should become the new authorizer of OCSA's charter -- on the condition that it address concerns over admissions policies and fundraising practices.

Support for LAist comes from

In other words -- new charter authorizer, but the same conditions that OCSA had objected to in the first place.

The board will vote on the recommendation at its next meeting on March 4.

GO DEEPER:

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist