This petition expresses the opposition of Highland Park residents and others to the Tikun Olam Hebrew-language Immersion Charter School application and supports the passage of charter school reform legislation that would provide for local control, accountability, and the equitable and representative composition of charter schools.
Whereas,
We, the undersigned residents of Highland Park and other concerned citizens,
* strongly support quality public education in our community and across the state;
* express alarm that the state has sent a bill to our School Board for $100,000 to be charged against our severely depleted school budget in order to pay for students projected to attend the proposed Tikun Olam Hebrew-language immersion charter school next year
* object to the lack of taxpayers' consent or consultation in the process of approving charters; and
* share concerns that this school will not serve a broad cross-section of our community and that its curriculum may breach the separation of church and state;
We therefore:
1) strongly oppose the chartering of the proposed Tikun Olam charter school; and
2) support the passage of the proposed two-part legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Diegnan that would provide for local control in granting charters, for transparency and accountability, and for student-body composition that reflects the demographics of home districts (including special needs and ESL students).
