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After a years-long legal fight to reverse the approval of a local charter high school, the San Benito High School District lost its battle when an appellate court ruled against its petition.
On Aug. 4, the California 6th Appellate District Court reaffirmed the San Benito County Superior Court’s 2024 decision to deny the school district’s request to reverse the San Benito County Board of Education’s approval of Polytechnic Academy in 2023.
The appellate court also ordered that the Board of Education and Polytechnic Academy could recover legal costs of the appeal from the high school district.
In a statement provided by school district Communications Officer Adam Breen, the district said it was disappointed with the decision but respected the court’s ruling.
“Our concern has always been that public education decisions follow the legal process established by the Legislature and that local communities have an appropriate voice when decisions affect their schools and students,” the statement said.
In a news release, the San Benito County Office of Education said it was pleased with the decision.
“The decision is a win for the students and families of San Benito County,” Board of Education President Rodney Bianchi said. “Tuesday’s decision affirms that the San Benito County Board of Education followed the law and acted in the best interests of students. We remain committed to supporting high-quality educational opportunities and ensuring families have access to programs that meet their diverse needs.”
Polytechnic Academy Board President Dr. Ariel Hurtado said he was excited to move forward and hoped to work with the high school district and other schools in prioritizing the well-being of all county students.
“I never had a doubt that we would prevail, but unfortunately a lot of money that could’ve been used to help our students was given to lawyers on both sides,” he said.
In its news release, the Office of Education said that it and Polytechnic Academy spent hundreds of thousands of public dollars” on the case.
Polytechnic Academy Executive Director Nicole Prater said the school spent $394,281 in legal fees. Monica Barragan with the Office of Education said the board estimates that it spent about $300,000 and that the specific figure will be included in court filings.
Breen said the district would disclose the amount it spent on the lawsuit, but it has yet to do so.
In its statement, the high school district said it would have preferred that public dollars go directly to classrooms and student services, but that it believed it was necessary and justified to challenge Polytechnic Academy’s approval because the “process raised serious concerns about educational impacts on our students and was undertaken without meaningful input from the district or the local community.”
Polytechnic Academy proponents held an informational meeting on July 14, 2023, six days before the county Office of Education’s first hearing on the matter. The charter school ultimately got approval at an Oct. 5 special meeting.
The decision by the appellate court was unanimous from a three-judge panel, with Judge Adrienne Grover authoring the opinion and Judge Charles Wilson II and Judge Cynthia Lie concurring.
Polytechnic Academy is entering its second year of operation at the Briggs Building in downtown Hollister and promised it would focus on at-risk students and those in socio-economically disadvantaged communities.
The high school district challenged the creation of the charter school by arguing it did not meet the requirements to operate countywide. The Aromas San Juan Unified School District, San Benito High School Teachers Association and Anzar High School also opposed the charter school, arguing it would divert funding from existing public schools.
The district opposed the charter school on the basis that Polytechnic Academy proposed to operate out of one location and thus could not be approved as a countywide charter school, claiming that it needed the district’s approval to operate as a district charter school.
It also argued that Polytechnic Academy’s proposed services were already provided by surrounding high schools, including San Andreas Continuation High School, which is operated by the county Office of Education, and Anzar High School.
However, the appellate court’s decision found that state law has “plain language” which indicates the legislative intent was to allow countywide charter schools to operate out of one location. It also found that the countywide structure would better serve students, compared to being limited to a district.
The opinion states that in a district charter model, the school must accept all interested students regardless of residence within the state. Only after it reaches capacity can it give lottery preference to those residing within the district.
By comparison, the court noted that a countywide charter school would give preference to students residing within the county once it reaches capacity.
“If Polytechnic held only a district charter and all of the targeted at-risk students attempted to enroll, the students residing outside of the district but still within the county would not have an equal chance to attend Polytechnic, interfering with Polytechnic’s intended countywide model,” the court’s opinion states. “Even if the Board [of Education] could have ruled differently, we must defer to the Board’s exercise of discretion in a particular manner absent an abuse of that discretion.”
The court opinion also notes that Polytechnic Academy does not provide exactly the same services as high schools within the county. It said the academy differs “in a critical way” from San Andreas Continuation School in that the former serves students 13 to 22 years old, while the latter enrolls only at-risk students 16 years and older.
“The District will continue to monitor the impacts of Polytechnic Academy while remaining focused on our primary mission: serving the students and families of the San Benito High School District,” the district said in its statement. “We remain committed to providing exceptional educational opportunities, being responsible stewards of public resources, and maintaining open and transparent communication with our community.”
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