GRANADA HILLS CHARTER FOES TRY TO DELAY VOTE.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

In what is widely seen as a showdown over Los Angeles Unified's commitment to charter schools, opponents of granting Granada Hills High independent status have mounted a drive to derail school board approval.

Board President Caprice Young has pushed for a vote on Granada Hills, Palisades High and other charter petitions Tuesday as the last chance to get the issue before state education officials in time for the schools to operate independently in the coming school year. But LAUSD officials and the teachers union have sought to delay the vote. ``It's a turning point for the charter school movement, especially in Southern California and Los Angeles,'' said Joe Lucente, head of the widely praised, 10-year-old Fenton Avenue Charter in Lake View Terrace.

``This is pretty important. I think it will set a precedent.''

Lucente said several other schools might seek charter status if Granada Hills succeeds. El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills already has a petition pending but it has not yet been scheduled for a vote.

If opponents succeed in delaying the Granada Hills vote, it could mean the school's charter effort is dead. Young will be replaced by retired teacher Jon Lauritzen on July 1 and he already has called for a moratorium on charters.

Fearful of their effort being shelved, Granada Hills parents have launched a massive phone and e-mail campaign to make their case.

``I am being stopped at every grocery store and every T-ball game,'' Granada Hills parent Sonja Eddings Brown said. ``Parents at other schools can't believe we dare to try. They hope we will succeed because it opens the door for hopes for everyone.

``This is not a selfish effort on the part of Granada Hills. This is the future of our district.''

If approved, Granada Hills - with a student population of about 3,800 - would be the largest conversion campus of its kind in the nation. Nationwide, there is a growing trend of charter schools spreading from urban areas into higher-achieving suburban schools, with parents seeking them out as a promising alternative to traditional public school education.

The high political stakes involved in Tuesday's vote have led to intense maneuvering behind the scenes.

United Teachers Los Angeles has called for delaying the vote to address myriad issues, ranging from revisions made to Granada's charter petition to how much conversion charter schools should pay the district for upkeep of facilities - issues raised in recent weeks by the LAUSD. Granada Hills and others are contesting a $3.18 per-square-foot fee the district wants to levy.

``The district isn't going away. Neither is the charter school law. What is the rush?'' UTLA President John Perez asked.

Romer, who outlined his concerns about the growing charter conversion movement at the April board meeting, is sympathetic to the concerns raised by the union, which likely is going to regain a majority of the board seats after the May 20 runoff election.

``The UTLA position, I understand the reason for it. I am also asking those questions,'' Romer said. ``I feel there are very serious issues raised by this decision. ... I think we ought to take the time to do this right.''

School district officials told Granada Hills earlier this week that the vote would be put off until May 27, but they have since reversed themselves under pressure from Young.

However, district officials continue to raise issues with the school's petition, although they had previously told Granada Hills administrators that the document was complete, said Principal Brian Bauer.

``There's about 45 pages of revision requests that have come from various offices in the district. We have responded to each and every one of them.''

Assistant Superintendent Jim Konantz, who proposed delaying the vote until May 27, denied that the district is trying to stall the process.

``It has never been our intent to stall anything. We have an obligation on our part to put forth this with confidence that it will be successful.''

In addition to the Granada Hills petition, the board Tuesday will also vote on Palisades High's and Pacoima Elementary's, while charters for Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima and Fenton are up for renewal.

Getting approval from the board is of critical importance to Granada Hills because the state requires new charter schools to submit a funding application for the next school year by May 31. After getting local board approval, Granada Hills must still obtain state board approval to secure funding to operate as a charter starting next fall.

If the board vote is delayed, charter supporters also fear that impending political changes would doom Granada's petition.

Two school board members who were elected in March with the help of UTLA are due to take office July 1, replacing pro-charter school board President Caprice Young and board member Genethia Hudley Hayes.

Depending on the outcome of the runoff election between Julie Korenstein and Greig Smith on May 20, there are also speculations that Korenstein - a longtime ally of the teachers union - would retract her commitment to vote for Granada Hills' petition.

Korenstein, however, said she has no plan to change her mind regardless of the outcome of the election. She added that after hearing of a possible delay on the vote, she called to urge staffers to work out any outstanding issues with Granada Hills.

``I already have said I am going to support it,'' she said. ``I don't change my mind because of a City Council election.''

With Tuesday's board agenda not due to be finalized until late today, Brown and others are mobilizing fellow parents to forestall any 11th-hour delay tactics. They are contacting 1,000 parents via e-mail to urge them to call their board members.

``The only way we feel we can let the district know how serious we are about this is to show them the support we have,'' said Brown.

``If they want to paralyze us, they can, but the superintendent will have to explain to 200 parents and staff why they don't want to let them go forward and do a better job.''

With Granada Hills operating as a charter school, parents, teachers and administrators would have control over their school's budget, curriculum and operations. With local control, they hope to lower class sizes, devote more resources to the classroom and experiment with new programs to better serve their students.

Young, who represents the west San Fernando Valley, said she is determined to keep the charter petition on Tuesday's board agenda.

``The bureaucracy should stop being afraid of innovation,'' she said. ``They really need to support and draw on the creative resources on our school sites.''