BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Earlier in the year, the Panama Buena Vista Union School District received a petition from Willie J. Frink College Prep to establish a charter school. On Tuesday, August 8, the PBVUSD Board of Trustees approved the new Southwest Bakersfield charter school.
Residents in support of establishing the Willie J. Frink College Prep Charter School celebrated the board's decision, while others voiced concerns about what this will mean for local kids and their educational options.
Arleana Waller is the founder of Willie J. Frink College Prep and has been working toward this goal for years. She says she is the first person to get an approval for a charter school in this district.
"Such a relief to know that the families will be able to have a school that they're asked for, that we would be able to partner with the district. I feel very happy. I feel very relieved. I feel very proud," said Waller. "This is about the children."
Other members of the community present at Tuesday's meeting were opposed to the vote and expressed their thoughts about the petition.
"Although this petition claims to be the educational gateway of our African American students, a charter school must not be a solution that creates isolation. Isolation and segregation does not provide the answers," said one resident who spoke at the meeting.
President of the Panama Buena Vista Union School District Bryan Easter says although the charter school's petition was approved, what he calls the "real work" of education professionals impacting the lives of students truly begins at the start of the school year.
"That's when the babies show up. That's when you make it happen as teachers, as principals, as district leadership. There's already been a lot of work, but the real work starts after this because the plan is put in place and then you've got to get going," said Easter.
Members of the board say that going forward, this petition is going to be a collaborative effort between the Panama Buena Vista Union School District and the Wille J. Frink College Prep Charter School.
