UPDATE, Thursday, Dec. 14:

The Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposal for a Salem charter school intended to serve neurodivergent students over concerns about its financial sustainability and ability to provide legally required services for students with disabilities.

Karen O’Connell, a licensed teacher who runs a tutoring business in Salem, presented her plan for the Iris Valley Charter School, which would serve about 100 K-8 students. She told the school board it would be easier to raise money for the school’s startup costs once she had board approval for the school.

Board directors acted based on a recommendation from Suzanne West, the school district’s director of strategic initiatives, who said the school had not demonstrated its ability to cover about $48,000 in expected start-up costs with about $6,600 in its bank account.

West also said the school’s plans for hiring and staffing costs were unrealistic. The charter proposal included hiring teachers with a $50,000 salary, and O’Connell said the school would not provide health insurance, instead giving employees flexible spending accounts.

Director Satya Chandragiri said there’s a huge need for schools serving special needs students, but said he was concerned about the school’s ability to meet student needs due to issues like not having any nurses on staff to administer medications.

“I see a lot of care and attention into the proposal and especially hearing your passion. It is very heartwarming and I appreciate it,” said Director Maria Hinojos Pressey. “That being said, what Dr. West is highlighting here and these legal rights and responsibilities is not an oversight that I can really just let go, and so I do hope that you take all this and continue working on it.”

The board also unanimously approved an early literacy plan presented by Assistant Superintendent Olga Cobb.

Original story below:

Salem-Keizer School Board directors on Tuesday will vote on a proposal for a new charter school in Salem, which school district leaders have recommended not approving.

READ IT: AGENDA

Charter school proposal

It’s the second time Iris Valley Charter School has come before the board seeking a green light to set up a school serving about 100 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Karen O’Connell, a licensed teacher who runs a tutoring business in Salem, withdrew her application for the school in January after fundraising challenges and saying the proposal needed more work to incorporate Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

She’s now seeking board approval to set up the school, which she hopes to open in the fall of 2024, according to the application.

Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run, with their own boards of directors, and typically accept students via a lottery system. Public charter schools operate under agreement with a sponsoring district.

Iris Valley is intended to help students with “unique learning needs,” focusing on students who are neurodivergent or have mental illnesses. 

It’s a response to the Covid pandemic and the challenges it created for a traditional school environment, the application says.

“Over the time that students were learning online, many developed habits and routines that were useful to them, such as sitting at a large table, couch, the floor, or other nontraditional classroom setting. Students also developed work and study habits, like taking frequent breaks, reading more about topics online, watching youtube videos to learn more, and snacking while working. When students went back to school in a hybrid model, it became clear that smaller class sizes truly are the answer for a better learning environment, especially for students who are recognized by the medical community as neuro divergent.”

District officials recommended the school board deny the application, saying the proposal does not demonstrate financial sustainability as required under state law, or meet requirements to provide adequate services to students with disabilities.

The school is starting with about $5,600 in funding, according to its application.

To participate

Members of the public may sign up in advance to provide written, in-person or virtual public comment. People can sign up using this form for a general public comment period, or to provide input during the public hearing on the Iris Valley Charter School proposal.

Public comment sign-ups close at 3 p.m. the Monday before the meeting.

The meeting will be streamed on CC:Media, channel 21, and on YouTube at the links below.

Layoff and budget cut updates

The school board will receive a report from Superintendent Andrea Castañeda about the first round of budget reductions and layoffs, which Castañeda has announced in pieces over the past two weeks. The round was intended to focus on administrative and overhead costs, though initial layoffs included some school nurses, union leaders said.

The reductions are a first effort to balance the district’s budget for 2024 and include spending less on supplies, vehicles, travel and cutting extra funding to a district account to pay off pensions debt obligations. Castañeda announced last week that she would cut 46 positions, 16 of them currently vacant, but did not specify which ones. The cuts and reductions would in total save $31 million this year and next, she said.

A second round of deeper cuts, which will include more people working in schools, is planned for early 2024.

As of Monday, the board packet did not include a written report on the cuts. Ashley Stovin, the board secretary, said it would be added before Tuesday’s meeting.

Other items

The board will also:

• Vote on adopting an early literacy framework
• Vote on changes to the bylaws for the Oregon School Boards Association
• Vote on representatives for the OSBA board and legislative policy committee. Salem-Keizer School Board Director Maria Hinojos Pressey is seeking a seat on the legislative policy committee

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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