By Barbara Jones, LA Daily News Staff Writer | http://bit.ly/JPFYSK
4/30/2012 10:10:14 PM PDT :: Citing concerns about the handling of admissions, expulsions, finances and claims of racial bias, the Los Angeles Unified board will take the first steps Tuesday to regain control of Birmingham Charter High.
District staff have given officials of the Lake Balboa campus until May 23 to remedy the problems and warned that the district can revoke the charter of the 2,650-student campus if the issues are not resolved.
Birmingham officials did not return phone calls on Monday.
However, in a letter posted on Birmingham's website, charter board President Larry Schapiro said officials at the school had been unaware of any problems until they received an April 13 warning letter from Superintendent John Deasy.
"The Charter School Board also believes at this time that no violations of either the charter or law have occurred," he wrote. "However, if any violations have occurred, the Charter School Board is committed to resolving these issues immediately."
He also maintains the school has been successful since its charter was approved in July 2009, noting a 43-point gain in its standardized test scores in just the last year.
Jose Cole-Gutierrez, executive director of Los Angeles Unified Charter Schools Division, said the concerns were raised as a result of district monitoring and complaints made by parents and students.
They include claims that Birmingham refused to admit disabled students, as well as students living in the neighborhood.
Administrators are also concerned about Birmingham's disciplinary practices, noting that it was responsible for up to 43 percent of all charter school expulsions in LAUSD. As examples, the district cited a student who was kicked out for carrying an empty plastic bag that could have been used to carry drugs. Another was expelled for laughing at a teacher who tripped over a cord.
In addition, the district says Birmingham failed to properly investigate allegations of racial bias lodged by parents of African-American students against a basketball coach. A resulting investigation by the Office of Civil Rights is pending.
The district also said the school provided inadequate supervision of a movie shoot in which actors appeared with bare buttocks in view of students.
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