State to Oversee Controversial Charter School in San Francisco

The State Board of Education voted Thursday in Sacramento to allow a controversial charter school run here by the for-profit Edison Schools Inc. to reopen under state control after summer vacation.

After three years of acrimony, the San Francisco Board of Education voted two weeks ago to sever most of its ties with the Edison Charter Academy, which operated in the city’s upscale Noe Valley neighborhood.

The local district had been debating whether to revoke Edison’s charter, but agreed to stop the revocation proceeding if the state would take over control of the school.

Before the New York-based corporation took over Edison in 1998, the school was one of the most notorious in the city, with a crumbling campus and some of the lowest scores on standardized tests in the state. The children were largely bused in from poorer neighborhoods.

During the corporation’s reign, the students’ scores began to improve, to the delight of their parents. But critics of Edison--many of them on the San Francisco school board--called the improvement a sham and charged that Edison weeded out the weakest students.

Thursday’s unanimous vote ended the ruckus, which Edison Principal Vincent Matthews said caused great disruption on campus. Edison Charter Academy here teaches about 500 children from kindergarten through fifth grade.

“It has been a difficult year,” Matthews said in a telephone interview. “What we want to do as educators is be there to educate children. That’s what our lives are devoted to. The amount of time we spent defending ourselves has taken a toll. We’re glad it’s over.”

Though the school operated as part of the San Francisco Unified School District, its parent company paid no rent. Now that the academy has reverted to state control, it will begin paying rent to the local district. The San Francisco district will continue to provide busing and special education services.

Before it agreed to assume oversight of the Edison school, the State Board of Education demanded that Edison agree to nine conditions, including that the company divulge financial information and projections for the next three years.

State schools Supt. Delaine Eastin, describing herself as “not a big fan of for-profit charters,” said the financial disclosures are essential because the company is getting taxpayer money, according to the Associated Press.

Gaynor McCown, a senior vice president for Edison Schools Inc., said the company was thrilled by the unanimous vote, although she rued what she described as “a very difficult year” dealing with the San Francisco district.

“On some level, a lot of what we’ve gone through has been unnecessary,” McCown said in a telephone interview.

“We showed that we did terrific work. The parents came out totally in support. The parents and children are who really count here. It’s not politics and ideology.”

San Francisco district officials also are relieved by the decision. “We’re really pleased that the matter has been resolved,” said Martha Buell Scott, the district’s outside counsel, “and we’re hoping that Edison will keep its commitment to serve all students.”