The Cotati-Rohnert Park School Board on Monday approved a notice of violation against Credo High School, alleging the school's operators have engaged in fiscal mismanagement and violated provisions of the school's charter and state law.
The 4-1 vote starts the clock on a process that requires official response by July 26 to charges detailed in a 22-page letter delivered to Credo officials Friday.
Sonoma County's third largest school district, which oversees the Waldorf-inspired high school as an independent charter, will then evaluate the response. If the board votes to revoke the 2-year-old high school's charter, a public hearing on the decision must be held.
Credo backers, who have maintained that the specialized school needs more time to succeed, said they have already made changes.
"I would challenge you to allow Credo more space," said Credo Board President Susan Olson.
She acknowledged the school is in "a tough place financially" but asked for for time.
Credo is currently $397,200 in debt, including loans from the state of California, Charter Schools Capital and an individual supporter.
But Cotati-Rohnert Park Superintendent Robert Haley maintains that the problems plaguing the school are too many and too serious not to issue the violation notice and set the potential charter revocation process in motion.
"They see it, but we don't see it. We don't see the viability," he said. "Do we just let another school year start?"
Trustee Leff Brown voted against the move. The special meeting lasted less than 30 minutes.
"There was no discussion," said Credo Director Chip Romer. "They asked for discussion - there was none."
Still, Romer said he remains "optimistic" that Credo will survive, saying parents are "doubly committed."
Credo follows the Waldorf philosophy and emphasizes a low-technology curriculum that pushes arts, language and elective classes that typically include book binding and blacksmithing.
"I am going to believe Rob Haley when he said this is the first step in the process," Romer said. "I think that we can present some solution to them."
But in the official violation letter, Haley contends that problems with Credo began in January 2012, just five months after the school opened with enrollment far lower than projected in rooms rented at the former Richard Crane Elementary School.
The first class had 39 students. That swelled to about 80 last year and officials expect 108 next year.
But school backers expressed concern that the district's move to put the potential revocation process in motion could scare off students and their families before the start of the upcoming school year on Aug. 21.
"I don't know how you find an alternate plan between July 26 and August," said Chuck McMillan of Cotati, whose twins expected to enroll at Credo as freshman in August.
"They did this, right or wrong, they did this after all enrollments are closed," he said of other high school programs.
Board President Marc Orloff expressed sympathy for families' situations, but said the board has been clear about the ongoing issues of both finances and accreditation with the school.
"It is distressing to be in this position," he said. "You don't like to see this happen to them. It puts them in a hard situation as to what they are going to do.
"Because of our oversight and fiscal responsibility we have over them, I would be concerned with liability as it pertains to them and how it affects us," Orloff said.
"We are not the enemy," he said.
"The school has taken these concerns very seriously," said Hilary Harmssen, managing director for the San Francisco Bay Area region of the California Charter Schools Association.
Harmssen on Monday night advocated for Credo, saying the school has provided a strong academic program shown in its test scores.
Credo students hit 822 on the State Academic Performance Index in the most recent data available. The state goal is 800 out of possible 1,000.
But the school remains unaccredited, a key component of the district's concerns, Haley said.
The school cannot get so-called A-through-G college preparatory curriculum approved by the state university systems without full accreditation. Completion of the A through G courses is necessary to apply to any California State University and University of California campus.
Although behind its initial schedule for the process, an application was submitted in April and an accreditation team is slated to visit the school in the fall, Romer said.
C?ine Haugen, whose daughter currently attends Credo, said that despite the turmoil, parents remain committed to the school.
"The parents are not coming to you and saying 'We need your help.' We are thriving," she told the board Monday night. "This school is not going anywhere, this school is staying. I will do anything to help that happen."
Haley and board members said Monday that the vote does not spell the end of Credo but that it does put a potential revocation on the horizon. Still, Haley said he would be willing to sit down with Credo officials and a mediator in the meantime.
"I'm not ruling out the use of a third party mediator," Haley said, so long as timelines are followed and Credo officials submit an official response by July 26.
Romer said despite Monday's decision, he remains optimistic about the school's future.
"There is a lot of passion about this education," Romer said. "And we can't get it anywhere else."
Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671, kerry.benefield@press democrat.com or on Twitter @benefield.
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