The FAME charter school in Fremont appears to be heading toward a five-year renewal of its charter in March, after the Alameda County Board of Education voted unanimously at a meeting on Tuesday to continue offering its provisional support.
The school has been the subject of controversy since a critical state audituncovered questionable financial practices and the Fremont Unified School District voiced its opposition to the renewal of the school charter. The audit findings were the subject of an article in The New York Times on Sunday.
A vocal opponent of FAME on the county’s Board of Education, Yvonne Cerrato, was not present for the Tuesday vote. The board appeared to move past some of the concerns voiced by Fremont officials, as several board members and officials — including the Alameda County official in charge of the FAME investigation, Carlene Naylor, an associate superintendent — sounded firmly in support of the school.
The school must meet several conditions by March 1 to have its charter renewed. The conditions include discontinuing the practice of taking high-fee, high-interest short-term loans from either relatives of the director or the school’s board members.
During the meeting, Milt Werner, superintendent of the Fremont Unified