In the high-stakes struggle for control over one of the city's most troubled public schools, Los Angeles school district officials have rejected plans by a leading charter group to take over the campus.
Last month, Green Dot Public Schools announced that it had collected "signatures of interest" from a majority of the tenured teachers at Locke High School -- clearing the major legal hurdle toward converting the campus into a series of charter schools.
But on Friday, Los Angeles Unified School District officials threw out the formal takeover plan submitted by Green Dot on grounds that the group no longer has the support of a majority of the teachers. Many faculty members rescinded their signatures, district officials said, because of confusion over the proposed takeover.
The district's decision drew a quick and angry response from Green Dot leaders, who accused district leaders of deliberately trying to undermine their efforts. They vowed to push ahead with plans to convert Locke by 2008.
Charters are publicly funded but run independently, outside of many of the regulations imposed by school districts. In exchange for the freedom to innovate in the classroom, charters must improve student performance.
Unlike the handful of other schools that converted to charters in L.A. Unified, Green Dot's gambit, if successful, would mark the first time an outside charter group organized a break from the district. Since Locke teachers indicated a willingness to leave the district, teachers at two other high schools have met with Green Dot founder Steve Barr to discuss possible partnerships.
The prospect of a teacher revolt at Locke, as well as losing control of a campus and its millions in state funds, had sent district and teacher union officials scrambling to counter Green Dot.
Within days of Green Dot's announcement, district officials had Locke Principal Frank Wells escorted off campus and relieved of his duties pending the outcome of a district investigation into allegations that he allowed teachers to leave their classrooms to collect and sign the petitions.
In hurried, closed-door faculty meetings, district officials tried to assuage frustrated teachers with sudden offers of increased authority and reforms. Officials also emphasized that, if the takeover went through, teachers would have to reapply to Green Dot for a job at the newly reconfigured Locke or transfer to another district school, and that Green Dot does not offer lifetime benefits provided by the district. And, because of strict state law, teachers were told their signatures would leave the district's Board of Education little choice but to approve Green Dot's takeover if it reached them for a vote.
