Fate of charter school will be decided by state Board of Education

After being denied a charter renewal by both the El Centro Elementary Unified School District and the Imperial County Office of Education, Imagine School’s last chance was to appeal to the state. And it seems to have worked.

Earlier this week in a 5 to 4 vote, Imagine Schools was recommended a charter renewal by the state Department Advisory Commission. The next step is to seek an approval from the state Board of Education.

Grace Jiminez, Imagine Schools’ principal said this was a giant hurdle for them to overcome.

Jiminez said, “We’re very pleased you know, with the recommendation. And we feel that the voice of the parents and students were valued.”

According to a report on why they denied the school charter, the school district said Imagine Schools had students with low test scores and questionable business operations. Imagine Schools is currently being audited by a state agency for allegedly mishandling finances. Jiminez said the school has nothing to hide.

“I believe that the audit is actually going to display that we are very transparent about our business. Our business that we do. The payments we have,” said Jiminez.

One official from ICOE said, if the school closes, placing 800 students in other schools would have been chaotic.

“At the end of the day, we’re concerned about students. We’re concerned about students, we’re concerned about families. We’re concerned about districts with limited resources,” said Todd Evangelist, ICOE Director of Development and Community Relations.

If Imagine Schools loses their appeal with the state Board of Education, the school will have no choice but to close its doors.

“6 votes one way or the other, will determine the fate of Imagine Schools. And that will be a definitive vote. There’s no more appeal process,” said Evangelist.

The state Board of Education will decide on September 6th or 7th whether to approve Imagine Schools’ charter renewal.