CRITICS QUESTION INDEPENDENT CAMPUSES.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District have boosted test scores and student attendance rates but they aren't a panacea for reform, critics say.

Despite federal and state legislation making it easier to create charter schools, educators still have trouble finding affordable land for campuses. Many administrators also lack experience running financially independent schools.

And because charter schools can tailor educational programs to meet the needs of their students, the reforms can't be easily replicated throughout the district, said Day Higuchi, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

``I don't think they are the blueprint for reforming the district,'' Higuchi said. ``You see a wide variation in curriculum and standards. They may be very good for certain groups of students but they're not good for all students. Students who are left out will continue to be left out.''

Tell that to Yvonne Chan, principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima. Nearly every student qualifies for the federal government's free and reduced-priced lunch program and 82 percent have limited English skills.

Yet the school received a National Blue Ribbon and California Distinguished School award for its outstanding curriculum, rising test scores and student attendance rates.

``All it takes is guts,'' Chan said. ``You need to have a willingness to do it. It's not `we can,' but `we will.' ''

Charter schools are public schools run under contract by teachers, parents and administrators who promise to improve student performance in exchange for independence from school districts.

If the school fails, it's closed down.

During the past several years, federal and state legislation has released money for such campuses while lifting caps restricting their numbers. Starting in January, a new state law will allow the creation of 250 more charter schools, followed by 100 new schools each successive year.

``There's a lot more resources,'' Chan said, noting that the relationship between her school and the district has improved during the past five years.

``There's a lot more understanding by the media and the public,'' she said. ``Battles with senior staff and the unions have been settled. I no longer call it `battle,' it's more `negotiation.' I don't need to fight anymore.''

Others see monumental changes occurring in education as the number of charter schools increases and transforms how schools are run and students are taught.

``We're undergoing a potential sea change,'' said Guilbert Hentschke, dean of the School of Education at the University of Southern California. The academician said the number of charter schools is on the rise, especially among private companies that contract with public school districts to operate campuses.

``Now, not only are individual schools becoming charters but for-profit systems of schools are creating charters,'' said Hentschke, who anticipates the number of such charters doubling from 24 to 48 nationwide this year. ``It's a healthy thing for competition.''

To become a charter, a school must show how it will improve student performance in a detailed proposal to the Board of Education that includes everything from the school's mission statement to achievement goals to fiscal management, if it is independent. The state Board of Education also must approve the charter.

But many educators, more comfortable in front of a classroom than in front of a ledger sheet, remain wary of running a financially independent school.

``Running a $2 million to $3 million enterprise is something that educators are not necessarily good at,'' said David Patterson, charter schools consultant for the state Department of Education.

Joe Lucente, co-director of Fenton Avenue Charter School in Lake View Terrace, agreed. This past summer, he helped train 14 charter schools in fiscal management during a seminar in Portland, Ore.

``That's the biggest hangup for educators,'' he said. ``They have little experience in budgetary finance. If we're going to help this movement proliferate, we're going to have to help others understand budgetary finance.''

Finding affordable land also is a hindrance for those interested in establishing charters. Unlike other states, California does not provide capital funding for start-up charters to purchase land.

``What keeps most start-up charters from happening is being able to secure real estate. Finding it, let alone paying for it,'' Hentschke said.