In what may be the first of its kind in California, Fresno Unified School District plans to launch a nonprofit organization to open a charter school in west-central Fresno.
But the plan — up for a vote next month — is already coming under fire from Fresno teachers union officials, who say the new strategy is meant to bypass union hiring rules.
Fresno Unified wants to open the Morris E. Dailey International Studies Program in August at the former Dailey Elementary School near Shields and Palm avenues. The school would be a K-5 charter that would prepare students for the academically rigorous International Baccalaureate programs at Wawona Middle and Fresno High schools.
The district plans to create a nonprofit called Fresno Innovative Charter Schools Inc. to oversee the school, which is expected to house 380 students by the 2012-13 school year. The nonprofit’s five-member board would include Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson or his appointee, two members from the district’s board of trustees and two parents.
The district hopes to raise the bar for local charter schools — several have struggled or closed recently — and having an independent agency oversee the new school will help ensure its success, Hanson said.
