SCHOOL BOARD HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING ON HOPE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL

The Morongo Unified School Board met last night. Dominating the meeting was a public hearing on a renewal application from Hope Academy Charter School. Reporter David Haldane said the hearing left some questions…
Will Hope Academy survive in Yucca Valley?
The future of the Morongo Unified School District’s only charter school hung in the balance last night as the board held an emotional public hearing on whether to recertify it for another five years.
At issue: the school’s finances, which have been problematic, and its academic performance, which is under par.
“There’s no doubt that Hope Academy has had some pretty serious issues in the past but we have moved forward. We need to cut out the politics and just focus on what’s right for the kids.”
That’s Kyle Hannah, Hope’s superintendent, who says that the financial problems will be solved by June and the academics sometime later. He was cheered on by a parade of administrators, teachers, students and parents who sang the school’s praises.
The board will decide which way to go on April 5. It may be no accident that that’s also the day of another public hearing: on a petition by the Hi-Desert Cultural Center to start a new charter school in Joshua Tree.