Debate over the Florence area’s first charter school and its religious ties riles the community

By WILL YURMAN/West of the Tunnel

FLORENCE – At least three complaints have been filed with the state against the Florence area’s first charter school opposing the school’s proposed curriculum and potential religious entanglement with faith-based organizations.

The school hopes to open in the fall after purchasing and renovating the former Rite-Aid building along U.S. Highway 101.

Jennifer Waggoner, executive director of the Whitmore Classical Academy,  said in an interview Friday that she is confident the school is meeting its legal and contractual obligations and is following state and federal laws.

The charter school had made its curriculum available to the public as part of its contract with the Siuslaw School District. That review period ended Friday, March 6.

Waggoner said she will put a team together to review the comments, including the complaints, and submit a report to the charter’s board, which will then vote on the curriculum.

The charter debate

The proposed charter school has created some controversy in the community.

At school board meetings dating back to 2022, in long threads on Florence Facebook pages, and in letters to the editor, members of the community continue to debate whether a charter school is needed or wanted.

Detractors say a small rural district can’t financially support a charter school and that the academy will pull funds from an already-strapped system.

They also argue that Whitmore Academy is driven by conservative values, noting its original affiliation with Hillsdale College, a conservative religious school that supports charter schools around the country. The charter’s original plan was to align the school with the Hillsdale network. Hillsdale College promotes and supports a network of charter schools, and its classical curriculum and core values, as seen on its website, align with those of the Whitmore Academy.

But Hillsdale’s religious affiliation is problematic for a public charter school in Oregon. By law, public schools can not be affiliated with any religion.

And so Whitmore cut ties with Hillsdale, although it is still listed on the Hillsdale website as a Hillsdale College Curriculum School. The Whitmore site lists the Core Knowledge Foundation curriculum for its social studies, science and English language curricula.

Supporters argue that the Siuslaw district is failing its students, pointing to low test scores. Some supporters see a district that is teaching the wrong values and promoting ideologies they disagree with, and they believe the charter school will provide a necessary alternative.

The academy hopes to take possession of the former Rite Aid building soon and then begin construction and remodeling,

The school accepted applications until Friday, March 6.  If there are more applicants than seats, a lottery would be held to select up to 156 students for the school’s first year.

In year one, the academy will operate kindergarten through third-grade classes, adding one grade — and eventually another building — until it becomes a kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

In Oregon, state funding covers the bulk of a school district’s operating costs and is based on a complicated formula. But at its most basic, a school receives money for each student. That currently translates to about $11,000 per year per student for the Siuslaw district. The Whitmore Classical Academy charter school will receive 90 percent of those dollars, about $9,900 for each student they enroll. The remaining 10 percent stays with the district to help cover costs associated with supporting the charter school.

Curriculum disagreement

But the Siuslaw district’s superintendent and the charter school disagree on who is responsible for making sure the curriculum meets state and federal requirements. Waggoner said that it is the charter school’s responsibility.

“It seems that the school district, or at least the superintendent, thinks that they have jurisdiction over our curriculum, and they don’t,” Waggoner said.

Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak is clear that he believes the district, as the charter school’s legal sponsor, has a legal responsibility to make sure the charter school’s curriculum follows the law. But the district school board appears divided on the issue and has yet to discuss the current complaints in a public forum.

In a Feb. 26 email, school board member Tamara Cole expressed concerns that the district board is interfering unnecessarily with the charter school.

“We do not have a say as a board over the Charter School curriculum,” Cole wrote, adding, “We have already voted and gave the Charter school a ‘Go’, but it seems some on our board are dragging their feet and honestly, in my opinion, are just trying to slow down the process so they can’t open in time.”

The superintendent disagrees.

“The Siuslaw School District Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for the charter school operations, and board members cannot absolve themselves from their legal obligations as elected officials with a simplistic response of ‘We don’t have a say over the charter school curriculum.’ To knowingly allow the charter school to fail to implement all curriculum standards would constitute negligence by the board,” Grzeskowiak wrote in response.

This is one of several key points of disagreement in the ongoing debate over actions and processes taken by the charter school, part of an often-heated debate that goes back to the origin of the charter school and has played out in meetings and on social media.

Complaints to state

In early February, Florence-area resident Carlin Washburn filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Education, alleging “religious entanglement,” a term the ODE defines as “Under Oregon law, a public school may not financially support or be actively involved with religious activity.”

In an email, the Department of Education said an investigator had been assigned to the case but could not provide an estimate for when the investigation will be complete.

A second complaint was filed by Emma Muehle of Florence detailing a list of concerns. Muehle said the ODE responded by email and said it would notify her by March 19 whether they would open an investigation into her complaint.

The charter school, in Muehle’s opinion, is more concerned with ideology than caring for the kids.

“And, instead of the school district really holding them accountable and making sure that they truly comply, the school district is taking on ever more liability by not holding [Whitmore Classical Academy] accountable,” Muehler said.

Muehler’s complaint echoes Washburn’s but also includes concerns about the curriculum, the district’s oversight, and hiring concerns.

A reminder. A charter school is a public school.

In Oregon, as in most states, charter schools were created to allow for different methods of teaching. They are often thought of as a testing ground for new ideas. They receive state funding, just as district schools do, and offer a free public school education. They can use different curricula and methods, but that doesn’t exempt them from complying with state and federal laws.

Both complaints, along with a third one by Karin Radtke of Tenmile, have been presented to both the district and Whitmore Academy school boards.

At some point, the Oregon Department of Education will rule on the Washburn and Muehle complaints filed with the state.

Meanwhile, Grzeskowiak is proposing to create an independent curriculum review committee based on the district’s Reconsideration of Core Instructional Materials policy.

“The district does not specifically approve the curriculum of the charter school,” Grzeskowiak said in an email. “But the district is required to make sure that the curriculum that is implemented meets all state standards. The charter school is not exempt from the basic standards that apply to all public schools with regards to state standards and curriculum materials.”

He added that the charter’s proposed curriculum has a solid framework, but “Where the curriculum appears to be lacking is in the broad, well-rounded cultural and social reference.”

Schools in the district, even a charter school, must have a curriculum that is balanced and neutral, he said.

“The curriculum presents primarily one general societal viewpoint across many subject areas,” Grzeskowiak said.

The school board has added time to discuss the curriculum review during its Thursday, March 12 meeting.

“The whole point for charter schools is to be a controlled laboratory, to be different, to try different curriculum, to try different instructional models, to see if something works,” Waggoner said.

The charter school’s position is that it may use materials from religious institutions as long as the materials themselves are not religious, she said.

Whitmore Classical Academy is moving forward towards its goal of a fall opening. They will do their own review of their curriculum before presenting it to their board, Waggoner said.

They hope to close on the purchase of the former Rite Aid building soon, and on Monday, March 9, plan to release the number of students who applied for the school lottery. If there are more applicants than available seats, students will be selected by lottery. If there are still seats available, families will still be able to enroll their children, Waggoner said.

• Will Yurman is a Florence resident and University of Oregon journalism instructor who started the Florence-area news site West of the Tunnel in 2023.