The fastest-growing network of charter schools in California may lose its charter status if financial data and an operational breakdown aren't given up soon.
Fresno Unified School District has asked that the locally based Gateway Academy hand over half of that information by Friday.
Gateway Superintendent Khadijah Ghafur says her academy already has given information to Fresno Unified several times over the past few months but will comply with the latest request.
If Gateway doesn't meet the deadline Friday, Fresno Unified says it will get another shot Jan. 4. If substantial information isn't provided by then, district leaders say they will ask the school board to yank the charter and dismantle the network that grew to 14 sites around the state.
Gateway has attracted widespread attention the past month, including that of the state's chief educator who issued a letter this week asking Fresno Unified to investigate allegations of religion being taught at some sites. (this would be Baladullah)
California Superintendent of Schools Delaine Eastin sent Fresno Unified a letter Tuesday asking leaders also to look into whether some of the sites are taking student tuition, a violation of the education law.
Ghafur says there are no sites under the charter accepting tuition and that none has religious tones, something that she says is suggested because one of the sites is in an Islamic compound east of Fresno.
She contends all of this is a misunderstanding that will be resolved soon and, when it is, community members likely will open their wallets to the charter school that prides itself on student enrichment.
"A lot of the issues coming out are even surprising to me," Ghafur said. "I don't know what the issues are, but I think we're under mass attack. It feels like we've been hit by a boulder."
The problems began this fall with a series of requests by Fresno Unified for Gateway's operational makeup and an itemized breakdown of how its money was spent in the 2000-01 school year.
The operational breakdown must include permits for each of the charter's sites, the number of teachers and proof those teachers have California credentials, said Marilyn Shepherd, who oversees Fresno Unified's charter schools department.
But the biggest red flag is money. The district wants to know, among other things, student enrollment and how Gateway used state and federal funding.
Most important, Fresno Unified wants to know how Gateway fell $1.3 million into debt a year after opening its doors to its first students in September 2000.
Fresno Unified has asked for the specific information countless times, said Jill Marmolejo, district spokeswoman. Officials received some information, but not entirely what they sought.
Because of Gateway's issues, Assembly Member Mike Briggs, R-Clovis, will propose a bill to allow charter schools only in the same counties as the districts that chartered them.
"I am very much in favor of charter schools," Briggs said. "But concerns have been raised about whether a charter school should be located outside a county where it is chartered."
Briggs plans to hold hearings on the issue to learn about the experiences of different districts.
"If we find the system is just fine, so be it, but I think it deserves some serious review," Briggs said.
Gateway started 12 years ago when several Fresno parents got together to pinpoint ways to improve education for students who weren't attending schools or whose educational needs weren't being met, Ghafur said.
They collaborated for nearly a decade, finding start-up money, mapping out plans and eventually getting charter approval from Fresno Unified in 1998.
Under the charter, Gateway can open several satellite campuses "in order to reach out to migrant students," the charter document says.
It opened in September 2000 with three local sites and about 242 students. But Ghafur says, once word spread about its mission, they began getting bombarded with requests.
They started opening satellite campuses across the state. At its peak, Gateway had 14 sites between the Bay Area and Southern California. It now has 11.
Ghafur said Gateway grew too fast to keep pace with its revenue, so it was forced to seek loans and accept private donations.
Delta Public Finance, a Sacramento-based company that assists charter schools in financing, issued two loans to Gateway Academy this year -- the first for $900,000 and then $630,000 in October.
The district says it has no idea how the money was used because an audit of Gateway's expenditures has not met district deadlines.
In recent weeks, Gateway sought a $150,000 loan from Fresno Unified to pay for expenses, but the district has refused.
"We are not in a position financially to give away money. We are struggling ourselves," Marmolejo said.
In earlier interviews, Karl Yoder, principal with Delta Public Finance, said Gateway paid back the $900,000 loan, and he was confident the school would pay its $630,000 loan.
The reporters can be reached at eolvera@fresnobee.com, mbenjamin@fresnobee.com or 441-6330.