ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : New Hope for Ailing Schools

It is welcome news that Orange Unified will have Orange County’s first so-called charter school--one of a growing number of California schools largely free of control by district and state education officials. The change could be a major boost for the troubled district.

Legislation allowing up to 10 charter schools in each school district and up to 100 statewide took effect last year. Although we think the statewide number is too low for this worthwhile experiment, it does represent an innovative start on giving more power to parents and teachers at local schools.

Although Santiago Middle School in Orange will not become a charter school until September, 1995, the excitement over the educational experiment already has brought fresh air into the district. The principal, Mary Ann Owsley, said the school staff would work harder and smarter because the members would have more control over their efforts and results. One school board member likened the innovation to having a research and development unit in the district’s back yard.

That is a good attitude: View Santiago as a laboratory, much like the chemistry labs inside the schools. What reactions occur when parents are required to donate time or money to the school? What happens when dress codes and tough discipline are mixed with students’ signed contracts to attend classes?

Some problems undoubtedly will crop up, but they could not be worse than those the district has suffered in recent years. Teachers and support staff have struck; board members have quarreled and been voted out of office; superintendents have come and gone.

Proponents of making Santiago a charter school wisely included the teachers union, the school board and parents in their plans. Teachers will be allowed to retain their union membership and seniority; the district will supply some services to the school.

Santiago’s charter will run for five years, and the school must meet the standards it specified in its application for the new status. The concept of having management based at the school, away from a centralized bureaucracy, should be watched closely by other schools and districts hoping to improve public education.