Quick Take
A Pajaro Valley Unified School District charter school that opened in 1999 will be considered for closure by the district’s governing board during its Wednesday meeting following a rating of “low performing.” Pacific Coast Charter School’s governing council endorsed the closure during a meeting last month.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board is slated to vote Wednesday on whether to close Pacific Coast Charter School after the public charter home school has experienced declining enrollment and attendance, worsening student performance and an unsustainable budget.
The school’s governing board, or Pacific Coast Charter School Council, expressed support for the closure during a Feb. 25 meeting as the school isn’t eligible to have its charter renewed by the state because of its low performance. PVUSD’s interim executive director of student support services, Heather Gorman, said the charter is the only one with a “low performing” designation in the county.
Established in 1999, the school serves about 197 students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade in independent study and some on-site courses. The majority of the students are enrolled in the high school program, which is structured similar to a college-style format. Students attend classes twice a week and complete assignments at home.
District spokesperson Alicia Jimenez said if the board decides to close the school, the district will support students and staff as they transition from being a dependent charter school to an online independent study program accessible to all district students. Independent study programs are required to meet the same Department of Education standards as traditional public schools but offer an alternative to classroom instruction by allowing students to study remotely.
In 2024, the school’s students performed nearly 94 points below standard for English language arts and 131.4 points below standard for math. The scoring system measures whether students have the knowledge and skills to be on track for college and career readiness.
More than 20% of the school’s students were chronically absent last year – meaning they missed at least 10% of the instructional days that they were enrolled in – and just 81% of students graduated, according to the state Department of Education’s California Dashboard.
If the board approves the closure, Pacific Coast Charter School will shut down by June 30.
PVUSD administrator Gorman prepared a report that will go before the board at its Wednesday meeting. In it, she said the school was founded during the first wave of the charter school movement as a way to address the needs of some community members who sought alternative, home-school programming. The school is located at the district’s main headquarters at 294 Green Valley Rd. in Watsonville.
“PCCS has a committed, devoted staff who care deeply about students and their community,” Gorman wrote. However, she added that the school failed to meet criteria set by the state for renewing its charter, which focus on meeting certain academic standards. Under the state rules, that means the school’s charter will be revoked.
Last year, 14 charter schools closed in California, according to the Department of Education. North Oakland Community Charter closed by revocation, while the remaining schools closed voluntarily. The state has about 1,300 charter schools.
The district’s governing board will hold its regular meeting Wednesday in the Watsonville City Council chambers at 275 Main St. The public session starts at 6 p.m. and the meeting will also be livestreamed here.
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