Oasis Charter School could lose operations renewal.

Today Salinas City Elementary School District  board will decide if they'll renew the 5-year permit of Oasis Charter Public School, a 20-years-old K-6 charter school based in Salinas that was formerly part of Alisal Union School District. An approval of the permit would allow the school to operate from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2026.

The SCESD’s board received a staff recommendation to deny the renewal petition.

According to the document “the school failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward meeting standards that benefit students of the school," and denied the petition would be in the best interests of the students. 

“Oasis has not presented clear and convincing evidence of improvement over time for student performance on measures of academic progress”, the document states. There is a low academic performance in standardized testing for English Learners and a decline of students from four to six grade who met or exceeded mathematics standards.

Oasis Charter Public School permit was previously granted by AUSD. Assembly Bill 1507, enacted in 2019,  removed the exception that allowed charter schools to apply for permits outside the district  they were located in. Because Oasis Charter is  located in SCESD’s district they now have to submit its application with them instead of AUSD.

According to Oasis Charter’s press release 250 students, 150 families, 13 teacher and 19 people on staff, will be impacted if the district denies the renewal. 

Oasis Charter’s administration have made efforts to relocate since the enactment of AB 1507 but it was unsuccessful in trying to find a place within AUSD boundaries.  

“We urge the five-member Trustees of the Salinas City Elementary School District to consider approving our Charter Renewal Petition and provides us with an opportunity to continue to provide a whole-child approach instruction to the Greater Salinas Community to complement those provided by the surrounding school districts,” said Lucy Zepeda, executive director of Oasis Charter. Zepeda said the approval will not create fiscal impact to SCESD.

The charter school recently received a $200,000 donation from Taylor Farms and it also participates in the Blue Zones Project, an initiative that promotes health and wellness. 

The SCESD board will have a second hearing about Oasis Charter Public School petition renewal tonight Feb. 8 at 6:30 pm.