If the Inspire schools fail to remedy several issues, Dehesa says it may consider revoking the schools’ charters. The Dehesa School District says a corporation that has been managing the Inspire charter schools across California appears to have been skirting transparency and conflict of interest laws. Dehesa says the corporation, called Inspire District Office, is a charter management organization and therefore is subject to such laws. The corporation, which has ties to charter schools around the state serving more than 36,000 students, denies that.
Dehesa’s Acting Superintendent Rich Thome recently sent letters to two Inspire schools that Dehesa oversees, saying that the Inspire District Office has been given too much control over what should be local school matters — such as maintaining student records, monitoring student performance and setting school board agendas.
