Salinas charter school facing possible closure
A small charter school in Salinas is facing the possibility of closing its doors after facing financial troubles coupled with lower enrollment.
Millennium Charter High School, which is located right next to Sherwood Hall on North Main, is now being asked to surrender their charter.
During a special meeting with school board members and parents Thursday evening, things got emotional as they were hearing their school is facing an uncertain future. Parents and students say shutting down mid-school year is disruptive to their education.
But the Monterey County Office of Education, which authorizes the school’s charter and handles their business services, says the small high school is out of cash, and in fact in the negative.
Students who came to the meeting say they do not want to go to another high school.
“As seniors, we have a lot at stake because we only have one semester left and we’ve been here since freshman year,” said Amber Nguyen, the student president at MCHS. “And so, I have ten credits maybe left and where am I going to make that up?”
MCOE Superintendent Nancy Kotowski says come Jan. 1, there will not be any money for Millennium’s payroll or expenses. But not so fast says the school board’s president.
“We’ve made the necessary cuts, we’ve been fiscally responsible, and at this time, we would hope MCOE would work with us to make things right for the errors they have caused,” said Jose Arreola.
Errors in accounting from previous school years, which Arreola says contributed thousands to the deficit.
“The business services admits it was their accounting errors at MCOE,” he said. “Now that’s fine, we appreciate they’ve owned that responsibility, but what we’re asking is for them to make it right.”
But the office of education is blaming declining enrollment. Kotowski defends how they have handled the school’s finances.
She says if the school closes, current students can attend a newly created Millennium Academy, which would be put on by the MCOE. Or they can attend a different high school.
Arreola argues if the office of education can fund an academy, they should be able to keep the charter school itself open as well. Parents think the solutions fall short too.
“The board of Millennium has offered, it sounds as though they’ve offered many solutions to resolve this, and it sounds as though MCOE is not willing to consider those options,” said Tammy Darch, a parent.
Options could include having the school take out a loan or possibly asking the City of Salinas to lower their rent. For students it is a matter of keeping their community intact.
“Millennium Charter is the right place for everybody,” said Nguyen. “You feel accepted, everyone feels accepted, everyone feels like they’re safe here. And once you take that away, what do we have? Nothing.”
Arreola says their charter school is unique in that they do not control their own finances. He says only the board has the authority to close the school down.
