EL CAMINO DEFERS CHARTER EFFORT ORGANIZERS CITE UNEXPECTED RESISTANCE.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

Stymied by internal dissent and political roadblocks, El Camino Real High School parents and administrators have decided to postpone seeking school board approval to operate as an independent charter campus this fall, officials said Tuesday.

Principal Ron Bauer said instead of pushing for a vote this week on its charter petition, El Camino is delaying the effort until later this summer with the goal of opening as a charter school in fall 2004.

``We clearly didn't expect we would be running across the degree of resistance both institutionally and on our own side,'' Bauer said.

El Camino's decision to postpone its charter petition comes in the midst of intense controversy over the growing charter school movement in the Los Angeles Unified School District. A divided school board last week grudgingly granted Granada Hills High School a one-year charter, instead of the standard five years.

To open as a charter school this fall, El Camino would need to have secured board approval this Thursday to receive state funding for the next school year.

But at this time, its charter needs refinement, and school leaders are still struggling to build consensus.

``We had to retreat. We ran out of time,'' Bauer said. ``We didn't convince enough of our people. We want everyone on board.''

Despite the latest setbacks, El Camino parent leader Aaron Yusem said the school community remains committed to the charter effort.

``We are still very confident. We know we are going to be successful. Our reasons for postponing are just basically time,'' he said.

Parents are launching a letter and e-mail campaign to build broad-based community support for the charter petition. Some expect, with the postponement, El Camino could face even greater opposition later this year from the school board.

On July 1, newly elected board member Jon Lauritzen, who has called for a moratorium on charter petitions, will take office, replacing incumbent Caprice Young, the board's leading charter school advocate.

When El Camino submitted its charter petition in March, 58 of 92 permanent teachers at the school, or 63 percent, signed the document, according to Bauer. Overall, 103 teachers out of a 150-member faculty, or 68 percent, supported the petition.

Although state law requires signatures from just 50 percent of a school's permanent teaching staff to proceed, El Camino Real's petition drew controversy. United Teachers Los Angeles alleged some teachers at the school were intimidated by Bauer into signing the document. School district officials subsequently launched an investigation into the charter process at the school.

More than a month later, LAUSD officials have yet to disclose their findings. The investigation and its uncertain conclusions have left another cloud hanging over El Camino's charter and Bauer's leadership.

Bauer said he was told at the end of the investigation in early April that district officials did not find any wrongdoing, but he has not been able to get the findings in writing, despite repeated requests.

``I don't think you should besmirch someone's reputation by making an investigation public as it was and not bring a closure to it,'' he said.

School board President Young said she also has been told that the investigation found nothing.

``It's terribly unfair,'' she said. ``They haven't found anything unusual. I think they need to make that official.''