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Stockton Unified approves renewal and material revisions for three Aspire charters; recusals noted
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Summary
The board voted to renew three Aspire charter schools—Langston Hughes Academy, Port City Academy and Apex Academy—for five-year terms and approved requested material revisions to regionalize governance. Several trustees recused on some votes; the district set monitoring and corrective conditions for schools with areas of concern.
The Stockton Unified School District board approved five-year renewals and material-revision requests from three Aspire-operated charter schools: Aspire Langston Hughes Academy, Aspire Port City Academy and Aspire Apex Academy.
District staff presented detailed evaluations for each charter. For Langston Hughes Academy staff found LHA eligible for renewal as a "middle-performing" school but flagged concerns including English learner progress, chronic absenteeism and suspensions; staff recommended renewal with monitoring and agreement terms. Aspire representatives noted a 97.7% graduation rate and extensive dual-enrollment work, describing interventions to strengthen ELA and math outcomes.
Port City Academy’s staff report noted recent improvements in ELA and math and reductions in chronic absenteeism; school leaders highlighted early-literacy investments and attendance recovery work. The board approved Port City’s renewal and material revision to a regional governance model 5–0; Vice President Shauna Priest and Clerk Martin recused themselves from that vote.
Aspire Apex Academy’s renewal passed with similar oversight conditions after district staff and a fiscal advisor raised concerns about Apex’s multi-year negative ending fund balances (the district cited an approximate negative balance of $2.9 million in the first interim for 2025–26) and asked for strict monitoring and monthly financial reporting if reauthorized. Aspire leadership described enrollment growth and organizational supports and said the central organization would continue to support the site; trustees approved the renewal with required fiscal monitoring provisions.
Across the three items, the board’s votes included specified recusals where trustees had previously disclosed potential conflicts. District staff said items needing correction (educational-program descriptions, measurable outcomes, MTSS alignment) will be addressed via negotiated agreements and routine oversight during the renewed charter terms.
