Board Rejects School’s Bid for Independence : Education: The adult center’s petition to operate under state charter guidelines was criticized as too vague. Proponents vow to appeal the decision.

School board members have rejected a bid by the Paramount adult school to break away from Paramount Unified School District. Without comment, board members voted 4 to 1 Tuesday against the charter proposal, which has generated heated debate.

Petitioners had sought board approval for the Paramount Adult Education Center to become a state charter school, which would give it financial and philosophical independence from the district.

Board members opposed the effort after reviewing a district committee report that characterized the petition as incomplete and vague.

“The board just did not feel the petition was written well enough,” board President Janet Miller said after the meeting. “I don’t think they addressed all the items.”

Petitioners--who include more than 40 administrators, teachers and other staff members--promised to appeal the board’s decision to the county board of education. They said that the district did not give them a fair hearing.

“We’ve had nothing but roadblocks,” said teacher Richard Benavides, a leader of the petition drive. “There hasn’t been a spirit of cooperation.”

The Paramount adult school offers high school diploma programs and courses in English as a second language. It also offers classes for pregnant minors and job training for welfare recipients.

Under legislation that took effect last month, up to 100 California schools may obtain charters to operate independently of their school districts. In exchange, charter schools, which face review every five years, must produce measurable results.

Charter proponents have said such independence would allow the adult school to enroll more students without the cumbersome paperwork needed to transfer students from other schools or school districts.

The state requires school boards to judge charter petitions on 13 criteria, ranging from how the school would be governed to the types of students it expects to serve. The panel also rated the petition using a checklist from the Los Angeles County Office of Education. It included a review of how the charter school would recruit and evaluate staff members and how students would be graded. Paramount’s review panel concluded that the petition had addressed none of the criteria satisfactorily.

“We wanted to look at every question thoroughly,” said Assistant Supt. Julie Mayer, who chaired the review committee. “You have to say how you’re going to handle these questions.”

Charter supporters said the district’s review was out of line with state guidelines. “It was not the intent of the state Legislature to cross all t’s and dot all i’s,” they wrote in a statement. Technicalities cannot be worked out until a charter school is given approval, Benavides said.

Petitioners may appeal to the county superintendent of schools, who would assemble a six-member review panel comprising three Paramount board members and three board members from other school districts.

If the panel supports the district’s decision, the issue dies. If the panel overrules Paramount trustees, the county board of education has the final say.

Paramount Trustee Shirley Elliott was the only school board member to support the charter petition. “I think we would have a better school to serve the adults,” Elliott said.

Complicating the charter drive are district allegations of mismanagement and misappropriation of adult school funds leveled against former director Ed Quesada and Principal Luther Martinez.

Last month, the district placed both men on unpaid leave and began dismissal proceedings. Quesada and Martinez have requested district hearings, their attorney said. A date has not yet been set.

Both Quesada and Martinez deny any wrongdoing. Quesada has alleged that the district is retaliating against them for supporting the charter petition. District officials deny a connection. They would not release or comment on the specific allegations against the administrators.