BOARD REJECTS CHARTER PETITION; OFFICIALS FRET OVER RELIGION AT PROPOSED SCHOOL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

Citing concerns over its educational program and whether it crosses the line between church and state, school officials rejected a proposed charter school for at-risk youths in a building adjoining First Missionary Baptist Church.

The Keppel Union School District board unanimously voted to deny the charter for the Henry Hearns School of Academic Excellence, named for the church's pastor who is also Lancaster's vice mayor.

``We've analyzed it and reviewed it since it was submitted in October. It has several deficiencies that would preclude it from being approved, deficiencies according to the education code,'' board President Valory Gorny said.

The board took the action at a special meeting Thursday after district administrators issued a 23-page report recommending to trustees that they deny the charter petition.

Hearns spoke at the meeting, expressed disappointment at the recommendation, and asked for a 30-day extension, which was denied by the board, Gorny said.

Thursday's meeting was the fourth time charter school proponents had submitted a petition to the board. Petitioners had submitted and withdrawn it three times in the past, most recently in August, saying they needed to make revisions.

Although proponents maintained that the school would offer no religious teaching, district administrators said the doubted the school could be nonsectarian in its programs and operations.

The school ``would be inextricably entangled with a religious organization'' and would create a ``symbolic union'' between First Missionary Baptist Church and the district in violation of federal and state constitutional provisions requiring the separation of church and state, the report said.

The report said statements made by petitioners, parents who signed the petition, and others supportive of the school indicated a perception by the public that the charter school would be a religious school.

Some of the parents who were contacted by the district to verify signatures made comments indicating their belief that the school would be a religious school.

For example, parents stated that they were told about the school ``during church services,'' and that they were hoping the district would ``allow their children to be blessed by approving the charter petition, and allowing their children to be taught religious beliefs,'' the report said.

One person stated that the religious teachings of the proposed charter school should be compared to that of the Cornerstone Christian Academy in Lake Los Angeles, the report said.

In its report, district staff also concluded that the charter school proposal presented a vague and unsound educational program, records show.

``Even though it is estimated that special education and English language learners students (ELL) could exceed 25 percent of the charter school's enrollment, the petition fails to describe the educational program proposed for special education and ELL students or specify goals, measures and criteria (for those students),'' the report said.

The report added, ``The petition is also extremely vague about aspects of the proposed educational program, relies on erroneous assumptions for its educational program, and fails to specify the educational program proposed for all of the grades the charter school would serve,'' the report said.

The report also stated the petition fell three signatures short of the required number of 108, which represents half of the number of students projected to enroll in the first year.

``The two pieces that probably gave me the greatest concern was the separation of church and state and special education. That's a significant population with a high demand and requires monetary support. There were deficiencies in that area,'' Gorny said.

Hearns said Friday that he received a copy of the district's negative report only 90 minutes before the start of Thursday's meeting. ``We had called them 18 times before that,'' Hearns said.

He said he didn't want to comment on the board action until he reviews the report more thoroughly. A decision on whether to seek approval for a charter school through Los Angeles County would be made after the review of the report, Hearns said.

``I really think it was unfair, how they handled it. They led us to believe they would work with us,'' Hearns said.

Run by a volunteer board of civic leaders, but financed with tax money, the charter school would enroll children who are one or two grade levels behind others their age, come from poor or single-parent families, speak a language other than English, or have other educational challenges, officials said.

Under a 1992 state law, the charter concept allows schools to experiment with different administrative and educational approaches. A new school develops its own charter with district approval that frees the new campus from following most public education regulations and policies.