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Highland Academy seeks five‑year charter renewal, cites improved test scores and stronger finances
Summary
Highland Academy presented a renewal petition requesting a five-year charter term through 2030, citing dashboard improvements, subgroup gains in ELA and math, stronger finances with a projected $3.4 million year‑end balance, and a growing waitlist for elementary grades; the public hearing closed and a formal vote was deferred to a future meeting.
Billy Macintosh, director of Highland Academy, presented the charter school’s renewal petition to the Beaumont Unified School District board, saying the school is classified as "middle performing" under Assembly Bill 1505 and is seeking a five‑year renewal through June 30, 2030. Macintosh described Highland’s mission to ‘‘find your genius’’ and said the charter’s dashboard performance has improved since the prior year.
Macintosh reviewed staffing and enrollment: the Wellwood campus has a maximum capacity of about 340 students, six certificated elementary teachers, and roughly 70 students per middle-school grade. He said about 90% of Highland students are district residents and that the school has lengthy waiting lists at elementary grades, with 17 current third-grade applications placed on a waiting list.
On academic measures, Macintosh said the school moved on the state dashboard from orange to yellow; he cited subgroup gains including a 21.4-point DFS increase for socioeconomically disadvantaged students in ELA and double-digit gains for students with disabilities, English learners and Hispanic students. He acknowledged the school still trails the state average in math but highlighted year-to-year improvement.
The presentation included a financial overview: Macintosh said the school anticipates ending the year with about $3.4 million—roughly 80% of its budget—providing fiscal flexibility versus earlier years when Highland relied on borrowing.
Public comment during the hearing included a former student praising the school’s small classes and Matthew Neri (identified as Highland’s board president and longtime community resident), who urged trustees to renew the charter based on the school’s track record and community ties. The board closed the public hearing at 6:59 p.m.; trustees noted any formal action on renewal would occur at a future meeting rather than during the hearing.
Speaker list: Billy Macintosh (Highland Academy director); Elizabeth Bucher (assistant director, Highland Academy); Terrence Lee (chief business officer, Highland Academy); Matthew Neri (Highland Academy board president).
