School Charter at Risk After Teacher’s Arrest

Trustees for the Orange Unified School District will vote this month whether to revoke the operating charter of Santiago Charter Middle School following a teacher’s arrest this week on allegations of sexually molesting two former students.

The seven-member board ordered district officials to conduct a review of the Orange school to assess whether officials are caring sufficiently for the “health and safety of the children,” Supt. Bob French said.

Board members made the decision to reconsider the charter after Sarah Bench-Salorio, 28, was charged Thursday with 20 counts of lewd conduct with a child under 14. Bench-Salorio, an English teacher at Santiago, is accused of seducing at least two boys with a series of phone calls, e-mails and dinner engagements before having sexual rendezvous with them.

“The question is whether the school is meeting all of the requirements set forth in its charter,” French said.

Charter schools use nontraditional teaching methods and are largely independent but must have their charters approved by districts, which are financially liable for them.

Santiago, which opened in 1995, got a five-year charter renewal in 2000 and is scheduled for renewal again in July. Santiago serves about 1,100 students in grades seven and eight.

Orange trustees will vote on whether to revoke the Santiago charter at a meeting Jan. 20.