New Charter Granted To Orange County School Of Arts

NEWPORT BEACH, CA —The Orange County School of the Arts, an award-winning school, has ended its relationship with the Santa Ana Unified School District.

The school, established in 1987, has about 2,200 students from grades seventh through 12th, with students who reside in more than 30 cities in the county, and more than 100 cities across the Southland. While the school says a county charter is more appropriate for their students, it is the disputed $19 million owed to the Sana Ana Unified School District that remains in question.

The School of the Arts has argued that the district failed to give them proper 15-month notice before enforcing collection. That dispute is awaiting trial in civil court. The Santa Ana district offered a conditional charter approval in December, but school officials say there were multiple points that they found objectionable. Instead, they turned to the county board to approve its charter.
The county board approved a renewal of the school's charter by a 3-1-1 vote with Beckie Gomez voting no and Jack Bedell abstaining.

"The Orange County School of the Arts community can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the school they cherish is here to stay," said Ralph Opacic, a school founder and current executive director. "While I always had faith that the quality and impact of our program would be recognized, I am grateful to the Orange County Board of Education and the Orange County Department of Education for becoming our new partner. Together, we will continue to provide life-transforming education to the next generation of artists and scholars."

Santa Ana Unified officials sent a notice to the state declaring the charter failed to be in "good standing" with the district, which blocked funding for the school, but district officials reversed course when the school appealed in court.

Santa Ana Unified officials issued a statement saying they supported the county board staff recommendation to approve the charter with specific conditions. Issues raised about how the school raises funds from parents, as well as its admission requirements, were the primary points of contention.

"While we appreciate the relationship that we have fostered with OCSA over the last 20 years, we support OCDE providing oversight of OCSA going forward, as we believe there are still outstanding issues to be resolved at the school," the statement reads.

Santa Ana Unified officials said the county's taking over of the charter "does not exempt (the school) from its responsibilities for their pro-rata share contribution for district-wide special education services."

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.