Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Charter School Renewal topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CityView Charter leaders present renewal case and request contract changes at Hillsboro SD work session
Summary
Leaders of CityView Charter School described student outcomes, governance changes and asked the Hillsboro School District to consider contract amendments including increased enrollment, expanded pass‑through funding and additional services during a public hearing and work session.
CityView Charter School leaders presented their case for charter renewal and outlined proposed contract changes during a Hillsboro School District (HSD) work session and public hearing.
CityView Executive Director Nicole Copac opened the presentation by describing the school’s mission: “to inspire academic excellence, build character, and create high quality work, while contributing to a better world,” and walked the board through the school’s EL Education instructional model, recent enrollment growth and academic results. Copac said CityView started in 2004 with 64 students and now serves about 410 students.
The presentation emphasized three pillars — mastery of knowledge and skills, character (branded internally as “crew”) and high‑quality student work — and included test‑score comparisons that CityView leaders said show the school outperformed district and state averages in math and ELA for the past three years. Copac and Assistant Director Stephanie Baker described program elements including frequent field work, a multi‑year “crew” advisory structure in middle school, declines in suspension rates and an upcoming EL Education credentialing visit in May.
CityView also outlined several proposed changes to its contract with HSD. Copac said the charter requests an enrollment cap increase of 28 students, continued access to district services (nutrition, transportation, surplus warehouse and “grma” services as currently provided), improved summer continuity for special education/IEP services, consulting access to nursing and emergency response (CityView does not employ a school resource officer), and the ability to use online new‑student registration aligned with health services to maintain student files on campus instead of offsite. She said CityView currently receives an “85% pass‑through” of average daily membership (ADM) funding, with the district retaining about 15% to provide infrastructure and services.
Board members asked about financial impacts to the district. Scott, HSD’s district financial officer, and Jeff Jones, Business Services Manager, told the board staff are still drafting a proposed agreement and will include line‑by‑line financial review in a draft to be provided at the Feb. 11 work session. Scott said the district will consider staffing capacity and “if CityView has some funds to put forth towards those meals and if there's capacity within our nutritional services department,” staff will include that in the analysis. He said the draft will note which requests are cost‑neutral and which would require additional resources.
Public comment at the CityView renewal hearing included board members, parents and current and former staff. Brooke Riles, a CityView board member and parent, told the HSD board: “Families within Hillsboro School District need CityView as an option,” and invited board members to the school’s EL night on Jan. 30 to see student work. Parent speakers described project‑based learning experiences they said had improved student engagement and curiosity.
CityView leaders acknowledged recent governance turnover at their board and said they are working with legal counsel and OSCA (as referenced in CityView’s remarks) to follow required processes. Copac said the charter has previously secured ODE grant funding (she cited a 2019 ODE grant of $450,000) and used bond financing to expand facilities; she described debt service as part of CityView’s operating budget.
The board did not take immediate action on the renewal at the hearing. District staff and CityView will continue drafting a proposed contract; HSD staff said the draft agreement and Q&A responses will be provided to the board on Feb. 11 for further review and consideration.
Ending: The board’s next step is a staff‑prepared draft contract for review at the Feb. 11 work session, where financial impacts and exact contract language will be presented. CityView leaders and district staff said they expect continued public engagement before any formal renewal decision.
