Among other items of routine business under its Consent Calendar for January 8, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve an “initial Conflict of Interest Code for Oxford Preparatory Academy, a California Public Charter School.” As a California Public Charter School, Oxford Academy is required by Government Code Section 87300 to adopt such a Code. In turn, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is required to review the adopted Code and
- approved the Code as proposed; or
- revise the Code and approve the revised version; or
- refuse approval, send the Code back to Oxford Academy for revision, and require the revised Code be re-submitted within 60 days.
Staff recommends approval of the submitted Code because it “conforms to statutory and regulatory requirements and meets the Board’s policy to utilize the state Model Code.”
Oxford Academy is located in Cypress, catty-corner from the Cypress Civic Center. A college preparatory charter school, it houses grades seven through twelve. It consistently ranks among the best schools in the nation.
In the same Consent Calendar, other school districts and even Buena Park Library District are seeking approval of amendments to existing codes dealing with conflict of interest.
Update on January 9, 2018
A reader corrected myh description of Oxford Academy as a “California Public Charter School,” insisting that Oxford is a magnet school within Anaheim Union High School District.
I have no argument against Oxford as part of Anaheim Union High School District. However, the description of Oxford as a “California Public Charter School” was taken from the staff report on the consent calendar item, rather than being my personal description.
To clear things up, I asked a member of the Orange County Board of Education who in turn asked the assistant superintendent of the Orange County Board of Education. The response:
They are not a “Magnet” school, they said they are a regulars [sic] public school.
To enroll, you must complete an application and the deadline for next school year is Thursday, January 10th. New students must be entering 7th, 8th or 9th grade. After an evaluation of a student’s past academic records and standardized test scores, those deemed eligible take the Oxford Academy entrance exam. Based on the results of the entrance exam, Oxford admits the top 25 applicants from each of AUHSD’s junior high school attendance areas.
The response is noncommittal on what allows Oxford to draw from all of the junior high school attendance areas in Anaheim Union High School District, something that a “regular” public high school cannot do.