For many teenagers, annual back-to-school concerns involve buying supplies, choosing new clothes or trying to get a handle on teachers and schedules. But the approximately 350 students enrolled at Renaissance Academy Charter High School and their parents have a bigger worry: when, where, or even if, classes at their year-old school will resume this fall.
Nearly two weeks after a scheduled Sept. 6 opening date, Renaissance leaders still do not have city permission to move into a West Los Angeles space that is not zoned for a school. Renaissance must open by Sept. 30 to receive state funding for this academic year.
While city, school district and Renaissance officials argue over who is to blame for the crisis and what can be done, parents and students are weighing their shrinking options and appealing to local politicians for help.
Sophomore Lily Lysle, 15, applied this week to one of the few private schools in the area that still has openings, but she said she would much prefer to stay at Renaissance. "It's really a family of teachers and students," Lily said. "It feels really safe there."
Advocates for charter schools, which are independently run public campuses, say the plight of Renaissance points to a dilemma many such schools face when it comes to finding and renovating suitable facilities. About half a dozen other Los Angeles Unified-authorized charters found themselves scrambling to open this fall before obtaining the necessary permits with help from the school district and the city.
Renaissance's board of directors recently hired prominent land use attorney and City Hall lobbyist Ben Reznik to help them find ways to open its site on South Bundy Drive even as it explores such options as finding a new location or operating as an independent study program for a while. Parents, notified last week that the school might not be able to open, met with Los Angeles Unified School District Board President Marlene Canter earlier this week and called City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the area.
Reznik said earlier this week that he is hopeful about reaching a solution with the city. But if all else fails, he said he was preparing a lawsuit that would ask the court to recognize the charter school as its own state entity, not subject to local zoning and building safety rules.
