Inglewood Board Rejects Charter School Plan

The Inglewood school board has rejected a proposal by an educational activist to start a charter high school in the district.

The proponent, Steve Barr of the Green Dot Public Schools organization, said he was disappointed but would appeal the decision to the state Board of Education. “We hope they will give it a fair hearing,” he said.

Four members of the Inglewood school board Wednesday night voted against the charter plan and the other abstained. Officials have said they did not want to authorize an independent charter high school until the Inglewood district tries its own reform plans, including a small, academically rigorous, alternative high school in the city.

Charter schools are public institutions but are separate from their local districts, receiving funding directly from the state and from outside grants. This independence, supporters say, enables a charter school to reduce bureaucracy and increase flexibility in meeting students’ needs. More than 250 have been created in California since they were permitted in 1992.

Last fall, Barr started his first charter school in neighboring Lennox. He wanted to have one up and running for Inglewood students next fall. But that timing is unlikely now, even if the state eventually overrules the local school board and approves the charter.

Inglewood’s two existing high schools received the lowest possible ranking--one out of 10--on last year’s Academic Performance Index.

But James Harris, the city’s new school superintendent, has promised to turn the schools around and to create a college preparatory school.