The Pacific Collegiate School frequently makes the list of the top 10 public schools in the entire country. The question some people ask, however, is whether it is truly a public school. While expressing doubts over some of the school’s practices, members of the Board of Education approved an operating agreement with the charter school, effectively confirming its status as a public school.
One common question concerns the makeup of the PCS student body. Most of the students come from upper class families, and the overwhelming majority are white. This has led to charges that the school is skimming off the top students from other public schools in the area, which, in turn, impacts those schools’ performance. It’s easy to be the best when you only accept the best.
Then there is the issue of school fees. Public schools are supposed to be free, paid for by the taxpayer. While Pacific Collegiate is free, it also asks parents to make a $3,000 donation to the school and volunteer at least 40 hours. Some see this as masked tuition.
Not the school board, though. They applauded the launch of the school’s three-year study on ways to promote diversity and have required it to follow its findings.
Despite reservations, the school board voted almost unanimously (the lone dissenter being Bud Winslow) to extend Pacific Collegiate’s charter. And so it looks like the county’s finest school will continue to excel, even if it comes at the expense of the other schools. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
