Natalie Crabtree, 11, explains why she supports the proposed Riverside Charter Academy Thursday. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

At a public hearing about the proposed charter school Thursday evening, 40 people raised their hand in support of the school, 20 in opposition and four were undecided. More than half of the 20 opposed were district employees.

However, school officials reported that a website survey on the charter school showed the opposite: two-thirds of the 52 respondents voted against the school.

As of Friday afternoon, the three-question survey was still on the school district’s website, http://www.brookings.k12.or.us/. The questions are “Are you aware of a proposal for a charter school for grades 5 through 8 in Brookings? Do you presently have a student attending Brookings-Harbor School District in grades 5 through 8? (and) Would you send your student(s) to a charter school in Brookings?”

The survey may be used to help the board come to a decision when it votes on the proposal Nov. 29.

 During the hearing, which  was fairly calm and civil, 12 spoke in support of Riverside Charter Academy, and four spoke against it. 

The hearing was held in the Brookings-Harbor High School auditorium, and attracted more than 70 community members.

“I was pleased that we had such a turnout from the community, and I thought that the meeting itself went very well,” Brookings-Harbor School Board Chair Jamie Ryan said. “We got a lot of good information from the people who were there, and I was glad to get the feedback. 

“I am still very concerned, however, about the numbers. Forty people voted for the school. Even if every one of those was a student, that number is a third of the number that they would need. It will be interesting to see how they will be able to demonstrate support for 120 students.”

Brookings-Harbor School District Superintendent Brian Hodge also liked hearing from the public.

“It was good to hear from community members,” Hodge said. “I was interested, really interested in, what the people that did not have a direct tie – for instance were not on the charter school board or the people who have not received funds for working on the proposal, what those people had to say.”

Riverside Charter Academy project director Annette Klinefelter-Dingle was happy with the turnout.

“I was excited to see all of the people in the community come forth and show their support,” she said. “I think the takeaway from the hearing is that we’ve done a good job in terms of the proof being on our side to demonstrate what we can do.”

Many people, including Beverly Bacak, Jillian Hall and 11-year-old Natalie Crabtree spoke about how beneficial the Riverside Adventure Camp was for students in this community. 

One of the first speakers was Crabtree, a homeschooled student. She spoke in support of the school. She was a student at the Riverside Adventure summer camp, and had a chance to experience the proposed learning model. 

“I really enjoyed Riverside  because I am a hands-on learner,” she said. 

Other supporters such as Linda Bozack, Klinefelter-Dingle, Ed Kelly, Jodi Harvey, Kevin and Teresa Vanginderen, Judy Kaplan and Ray Mace applauded the benefits alternative education could bring the community and want the school to be given a chance to succeed.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to allow an alternative situation,” Kevin Vanginderen said. “I really doubt that this is going to be a financial mess. The school is going to sink or swim on its merits.”

Those who spoke in opposition to the school: Jamie and Jason Ryan, Katherine Johnson and Dino Cooper cited the planning team’s burden of proof, financial loss, curriculum concerns,  and potential program cuts. 

Kathleen Johnson talked about a specific lesson plan  the school gave in its proposal regarding the mining act of the Chetco River.  

“As I’m reviewing this, the thing that concerned me the most is that it seemed to focus on one ideology,” she said. “It didn’t take into consideration the financial impact on the community. Instead it focused on solely the environmental impact.”

Jamie Ryan also decided to speak. Even though she is an elected official, she said she wanted to voice her opinion because she was concerned that if she didn’t say anything, her silence might make people assume that she agreed with everything that had been said about the proposal in prior board meetings and workshops.

In her statement, Ryan discussed the planning team’s burden of proof.  

“Part of the burden of proof is the ability to demonstrate that they can run the entire school, not just the curriculum aspect ... I have really serious concerns about that based in part on the size of the proposed school: 120 students for a middle school- only charter school in an area where the only other local middle school has only 360-65 students,” Ryan said. 

Charter school consultant Patti Wills also spoke. She offered numbers on the homeschooled population.

“In 2009-2010 South Coast ESD (Education Service District) had 508 registered homeschoolers and told me themselves that they believed there was many unregistered in this community.” 

Hodge disagrees these figures.

He said according to the South Coast ESD, Brookings-Harbor currently has 62 documented homeschooled students for K-12. He said the number of homeschooled students in grades five through eight is less than 20.

He said the larger homeschooled populations are in the Coos Bay and North Bend area.

“To give the impression that you’re going to bring in a bunch of homeschooled students, I don’t know how legitimate that is,” Hodge said.

Next, the school board is required to weigh various aspects of the proposal including public support, the ramifications of a charter school and how the current schools in the district would operate if the charter school is approved. 

The board plans to hold several workshops before making a final decision on Nov. 29.