Board declines action on request

• By MARILYN GOFF
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Oct 17, 2009 - Page: 5B

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GREENSBURG — The St. Helena School Board took no action Thursday on the Pine Grove Charter School’s request to use School Board facilities for its planned fall 2010 opening.

Board member James E. Baker said there are legal issues still to be decided in the ongoing process involving the charter school.

Baker said the district School Board needs to clear hurdles on the use of school facilities, including determining what grades the charter school would offer.

Baker, chairman of the school district’s Building and Grounds Committee, said board members also need a proposal from the Pine Grove Charter School.  

After the board’s meeting, Pine Grove Charter School officials said the state Department of Education has suggested the charter school directors make a change in plans and take over one or more of the St. Helena schools to avoid competing for the same 1,100 students in the district.

Jose Afonso, director of Sabis Educational System in Minnesota, said in a telephone call after the meeting that the proposed charter school board has met three times with parish School Board officials on the matter, but nothing has been settled.

Afonso said Nov. 1 is the deadline for making a decision.

Afonso said the Sabis group would provide operational management of the charter school or schools, teacher training, curriculum and assessment.

Afonso said the Sabis Educational System presently runs a charter school in New Orleans and has taken over a middle school in Shreveport that has been in the Recovery School District.

Baker said if the charter school wants to use St. Helena School Board facilities that are not in use by the public school district, the charter school “can demand” to do so.

Although two board members of the Pine Grove Charter School — Joe Lombardo and Ferne Bistany — were in attendance at the packed board meeting room Thursday night, neither spoke during the hour-long session.

After the meeting, however, Lombardo said the board’s non-action was another stall.

Lombardo said the charter school directors in three meeting with parish School Board members had sought to begin a dialogue on taking over existing public school facilities.