Some of the most contentious areas of the new legislation include the option to close failing schools, convert them to charter schools or replace the principal and half the staff. Parents could exercise greater power within the public school system, with the possibility of moving children in the lowest-performing schools elsewhere or petition to turn around a chronically failing school.
The transfer option would be available to parents of children at the worst 1,000 schools. Parental petitions would be limited to 75 schools.
However, the implementation of any reforms is hazy, as the federal guidelines for the program cite broad goals, such as "making improvements in teacher effectiveness."
Mekeel assured the board members that supporting the state's application would not bind the district to accept the funds, if California is selected as a recipient.
"You'll have another decision to make before we're actually involved in this," he said.
The legislation package also provides a method for linking teacher evaluations to student performance -- an aspect arousing the fury of educators statewide.
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