Valley middle school seeks charter status

Frustrated teachers and administrators at a San Fernando Valley middle school have revived plans to break away from the mammoth Los Angeles Unified School District and form an independently run charter school.

Earlier this week, Woodland Hills Academy submitted its application to the district to become one of the state’s growing number of publicly funded charter schools. The move toward leaving the district comes six months after the school faculty backed away from earlier plans to convert to a charter. They agreed instead to a one-year compromise that called for the district to relinquish some authority.

That agreement, which basically allowed the school to keep four teachers it otherwise would have lost this year because of declining enrollment, is no longer sufficient, said teacher Colleen Schwab.

“We should not have to be begging for money all the time,” she said.

The district’s struggle to keep Woodland Hills teachers appeased illustrates growing tension among local schools seeking more freedom, a teachers union concerned about losing members to charters, and a district leadership desperate to hold on to the state funds paid for each student.

Schwab, a 21-year teacher who has spearheaded the effort, said teachers and administrators are now demanding full autonomy to spend the school’s estimated $7 million annual budget as they see fit and control over all hiring and academic decisions.

She said the district withholds about half of the roughly $8,000 the state pays L.A. Unified for each student. District Deputy Budget Director Mark Shrager could not confirm actual figures but disputed Schwab’s claim, saying about 90% of state funds are spent on schools.

Last month, all but two of the 32 permanent teachers at Woodland Hills voted to make the move to charter, far surpassing the state law requiring that a simple majority demand the switch.

The district’s Board of Education will decide in coming months whether to grant the charter, but strict state laws make approval almost certain.

Board President Marlene Canter, who represents Woodland Hills Academy and hailed the earlier agreement, said she had been unaware that teacher dissatisfaction had persisted but remained hopeful that the district could, once again, persuade the 900-student school to remain part of the district.

“I don’t want schools to think they need to become a charter to be successful,” she said. “Our job is to serve the needs of all our schools.”

Schwab said she too “is hopeful that intelligent minds will prevail,” but added that “we are dead serious about going charter if we don’t get what we want.”

The faculty is expected to vote again in April on whether to become a charter after waiting to see what the district offers.

Principal Allan Weiner echoed Schwab, saying teachers have continued to chafe under strict district procedures that leave many decisions about school budgets, staffing and academics out of their hands.

L.A. Unified has experienced a burst of charter school openings in recent years, with 103 currently serving about 43,000 students.

joel.rubin@latimes.com