Amador County – After a denial of its petition last week, Foothill Charter School proponents must decide if they want to withdraw the petition, correct it and resubmit it, or appeal the decision to the state.

Superintendent of School Dick Glock said Thursday that the proponents must decide their next steps, after a denial of their petition for a charter by the Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Foothill Charter School President Ramona Longero she may appeal the denial to the California Board of Education, and has 30 days to do so. She requested a 30-day extension on the decision, but was denied, and said the board preferred the petition be resubmitted. She said she had already submitted a revised petition, after getting results of an analysis two weeks ago from the district.

Longero spoke by phone Thursday with Glock, who said they had received a revised petition, but according to his research, Glock was concerned that “we won’t be fiscally sound.” She said the budget must show capital outlays, for items such as a flag, or desks, and they “just don’t have the details yet.”

She said she and her six partners in the school are confident to move forward with Foothill Charter School, and “as long we can build confidence in the financial plan, then we are good to go.”

Glock said they had three independent agencies look at the petition in an efforet “to be as impartial as possible.” San Joaquin County Charter School Authorizing Consortium found 53 items that did not meet state statutes, and all of those items have to be adjusted.

He said Longero was not discouraged and was “appreciative that we are sharing the information,” which they “can use for a prescription for success.” The Consortium’s findings were put in a matrix and given to Longero two weeks ago. They revised the petition, which was submitted before last Wednesday’s hearing.

Glock said some of the things they denied the petition for are still insufficient, and the county board of education would not approve the petition “in its current condition.” He said they must refine parts of the petition to make it statutorily accurate, and the board’s decision would be based on whether the petition does or does not meet state statutes.

“Talking to her today, they know a lot more than when they began the process,” Glock said, calling it, a “painstaking, meticulous and exhausting thing to do,” and the district is just trying to be impartial.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.