Charter school in foothills gets board OK

A two-year charter for the Yuba Environmental Science Charter Academy in the foothills won approval Tuesday by a 5-2 vote of Marysville Joint Unified School District trustees.

"We know the ball's in our court now and we have to deliver," Bruce Helft, organizer of the school that may move into an Oregon House site, said after the trustees' vote.

The K-8 school has been praised as providing an alternative to traditional schools, while also spurring questions about its impact on existing schools in the district.

Jeff Boom, president of the board of trustees, said before the vote that state law doesn't allow the school board to consider such issues as the charter school's financial impact on other public schools. Trustees considering the charter have little option under the state law governing charter schools, Boom said, calling the system flawed.

"We don't have choices," he said. "We have our minds made up for us."

Trustees Jim Flurry and Glen Harris voted against the charter school.

"I still have enough questions that I cannot vote for it," said Flurry, who had voiced concerns that the charter will allow the private Lewis Carroll School in Oregon House to become a public school.

Helft said the new charter school will have a maximum capacity of 125 students.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ryan McCarthy at 749-4707 or rmccarthy@appealdemocrat.com.