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Orange County Department of Education School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

6 h 51 min · 26 public speakers

Discussed vouchers and school choice

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 6 h 51 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Orange County board votes 5⁠-⁠0 to revoke Explore Academy Charter School charter 6:45:43

  • The board held public hearings on three charter school matters: an appeal by Excel Academy Charter School, a material revision request from International School for Science and Culture and the proposed revocation of Explore Academy Charter School. 3:21:13
  • Staff said recommendations on the Excel Academy appeal and the International School for Science and Culture revision would be published in July, with board action on August 5th. 4:09:10
  • After the Explore Academy hearing, at which staff recommended revocation, the board voted 5⁠-⁠0 to adopt the resolution revoking the charter. 6:45:43

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Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and agenda 12:19
    • Mari Barke opened the meeting, called the roll and said Trustee Sparks was expected about 3:30. 12:30
    • Mari Barke announced that the motion to approve the agenda passed. 13:08
  2. Invocation, pledge and oaths of office 13:30
    • The meeting included an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance and the administering of oaths of office. 13:30
  3. Board officer positions 2:45:35
    • Mari Barke called for the vote to elect Tim as the next president. 2:51:51
    • Tim Shaw thanked the board for the honor of serving as president and nominated a trustee to serve as vice president. 2:53:24
    • A trustee was also nominated to serve as clerk of the board. 2:53:50
    • The board elected Tim Shaw president 5⁠-⁠0, and the vice president and clerk were each elected 5⁠-⁠0. 2:52:08
  4. Public comment 2:55:54
    • A speaker at public comment raised concerns about students who cannot read or write and about math and English scores at local high schools. 3:05:42
    • Another speaker asked the board and the department to build a culture of support for employees injured on the job. 3:13:41
    • A speaker said the association's contract calls for a salary increase equal to the state-funded COLA and asked that the additional 1.44% be included. 3:17:06
  5. Consent calendar 3:19:48
    • Tim Shaw presented items 10 through 17 on the consent calendar, and no one asked to remove an item. 3:19:48
    • Tim Shaw announced that the consent calendar passed 5⁠-⁠0. 3:20:18
  6. New charter submissions 3:20:12
    • A staff member said Orange Springs Charter submitted a material revision and requested an expedited review to move forward with a property purchase. 3:20:33
    • The staff member said the public hearing would be August 5th and board action September 2nd. 3:20:33
  7. Charter appeal hearing for independent study school 3:20:56
    • A staff member said Excel Academy Charter School appealed after denial by the Irvine Unified School District board and proposed a non-classroom-based TK through grade 12 program for 2026 to 2031. 3:21:13
    • A district finance official said the charter could cost Irvine Unified approximately $3.7 million to $4.3 million, while a school representative said about 80 of its students already come from Irvine Unified. 3:45:09
    • Staff said recommendations would be published by July 21st, 2026, with board action on August 5th. 4:09:10
  8. Charter material revision for second campus 4:39:31
    • A staff member said International School for Science and Culture proposed an additional facility within Newport-Mesa Unified School District serving TK through 8th grade. 4:39:40
    • A school representative said enrollment grew from 107 to 144 students and 185 students are enrolled for 26⁠-⁠27, and another said the second site has a CUP for 120 students. 4:44:58
    • Jorge Valdes asked whether a shuttle between campuses was included in the projected budget. 5:10:00
    • Staff said recommendations would be published July 21st, with board action at the August 5th meeting. 5:08:09
  9. Proposed revocation of a charter school 5:15:23
    • A staff member said Explore Academy had not remedied the violations, had not secured an instructional facility after its agreement expired June 30th, 2026, and recommended revocation. 5:15:44
    • School representatives said the school ended '25-'26 with zero deficit and had filed a lawsuit against Orange Unified over facilities. 5:27:14
    • One board member asked about the school's cash on hand and why it took a loan for $750,000, and another board member said a recovery had not been shown. 6:35:23
    • The board voted 5⁠-⁠0 to adopt the resolution revoking the charter. 6:45:43
  10. Staff and legislative updates 6:44:44
    • A speaker said the next meeting is August 5th, with 6 appeals currently in line and an anticipated start time of 2:30. 6:46:19
  11. Board member comments and adjournment 6:47:29
    • A board member said a public speaker's concerns about graduation rates and literacy were valid. 6:47:29
    • A board member said 5% of Orange County K-12 students are in a charter, and the meeting adjourned until August 5th. 6:50:00

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Orange County, CA Board of Education Meeting”