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State May Shut Charter High School; Horizon Has To Meet Guidelines

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By ANDREA SCHOELLKOPF Journal Staff Writer

A 3-month-old South Valley charter high school may be facing closure next month, unless it comes into compliance with state education regulations.

The state Public Education Department visited Horizon Academy Prep High School in September, weeks after it had first opened, and found the charter out of compliance in several areas, said Terry Holmberg, the Albuquerque Public Schools charter school liaison.

Among the problems: the school was operating under a different name; there was no financial reporting, and the curriculum offered did not match what was spelled out in the charter. Further, the principal and business manager resigned shortly after the school opened.

The school is separate from three other charter schools that bear the Horizon name, though all were founded and initially run by the same individuals. The three other schools -- elementary and middle schools that have been open for two to three years -- have all been deemed successful and financially solvent, APS deputy superintendent Tom Savage told the Albuquerque school board during a special meeting on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the state forced Horizon's management company, Advanced Educational Programs of Arizona, to end its contract and turn over the books to the governing boards -- which are made up of parents and community members -- after more than a year of controversy regarding its fiscal management. Construction of the high school was delayed in the spring over uncertainty about the school's future.

"They inherited this situation," said APS board member Miguel Acosta of Horizon's plight.

Holmberg said that the school will likely be operating on a deficit in January when the monthly budget is cut from $166,000 to $86,000 to reflect the actual enrollment, though the school's business manager said Horizon will be in the black if the state allows it to receive its financial funds. Such funds are being made available to the other three Horizon schools because they were shown to be fiscally solvent.

In New Mexico, public schools receive funding based on the prior year's enrollment. New schools are budgeted on enrollment projections, but the money is adjusted based on student count on the 40th day of school.

Horizon projected 450 students, but has 227. Some 185 prospective students disenrolled from the campus after the school opening was delayed, said business manager Chris Charlton.

Holmberg said that since the state's visit, the Horizon board of directors and school staff have brought 30 students' special education plans into line, added job descriptions to the charter, created a remediation plan for failing students and started a student assistance team required by the state.

"It's quite a lot of work," Holmberg said.

Among the other areas out of compliance: The charter says that the school will specialize in technology and arts and offer educational tracts for students to follow, but no such tracts exist. It says each student will have a computer, and there are none, though 75 are expected to arrive in January.

The school doesn't offer physical education or health -- both required for graduation.

The school serves students in grades seven through 12; the 11th and 12th grades are expected to be phased in as the students progress.

There are no ancillary services, no bilingual program, nothing for English-language learners or no professional development for teachers and the newly hired business manager still needs a license to work at a school.

"We're spending hours and hours and hours working on this because of issues we'd inherited and because of the late start on school," said Debra Thrall, president of the charter's board of directors.

Thrall said the school lacks locker rooms required for gym activity, and is looking at offering other forms of physical education, such as martial arts and dance.

She said the school aims to offer a college preparatory curriculum.

Officials from the charter high school were unsuccessful Tuesday night in getting the APS board of education to approve a change of the school's name to Horizon Preparatory School from Horizon Academy of Technology and Arts, which is how it was chartered. The school has apparently been operating under several variations of the name.

"I'd have been interested in a name change if you had brought me curriculum changes with it," said board member Mary Lee Martin, one of three board members who voted against the change in the 3-3 vote. "A name change means nothing to me. ... When I hear that some classes that are necessary to graduate aren't being offered, I'm bothered."

Charters are public schools run independently of school districts, although the local boards of education have the authority to grant or revoke their charters.

Horizon officials were asked to return to the APS board prior to the Winter Break to offer the proposed curriculum changes, as well as the name change. APS administrators were also asked to prepare an "exit strategy" in case the school must close.

Source: Albuquerque Journal

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