Sacramento charter school stays open after $180M scrutiny

The Sacramento County Board of Education reversed a decision to revoke Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools’ charters, keeping the adult education network open after a state audit cited improper collection of $180 million in public funding. Studen

By the time the vote was called, the room had already filled with people who feared they were about to lose more than a school.

Nearly 300 supporters—many arriving by bus and packing multiple rooms at the Sacramento County Board of Education meeting Tuesday night—reacted with jubilation after the board reversed a decision that would have closed Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools. Some wore T-shirts reading “It’s never too late. ” and many spoke about the hard work of learning again: learning English. earning a high school diploma. and starting over in adulthood.

Sonya, a Sacramento mother of four who said she is 68 years old, shook with emotion as she described what a closure would mean for her. “I want to get my diploma so I can put it on the wall,” she said. “I’m 68 years old. It’s time for me.”

The fight over Highlands has never been just paperwork. It has been a daily reality for hundreds of students and staff who had already endured site closures and staff layoffs after a state audit found the school improperly collected $180 million in public funding and violated multiple education rules.

The charter school network serves adult students through two schools—California Innovative Career Academy and Horizon Community Charter. It opened in 2014 with the goal of helping adult students. including many formerly incarcerated or new immigrants. to earn a diploma. improve English language skills. or learn a trade. Within a decade, it had grown to serving 13,700 students at 50 sites statewide.

For the county board, the decision carried legal weight and an uncomfortable imbalance of testimony. Lawyers told board members they were only to consider whether the evidence in the record supported the district’s decision to revoke the schools’ charters. Even so. board members struggled with conflicting testimony from Twin Rivers Unified School District and the charter itself. and they could not agree.

After a four-hour hearing, a motion to reverse the revocation of each of the charters passed on a 4-3 vote.

“This vote gives our students and staff the opportunity to continue the important work of rebuilding this institution and delivering on our mission. ” Executive Director Jonathan Raymond said in a statement. “Our students deserve stability, support and the opportunity to complete their education. We remain fully committed to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.”.

Twin Rivers now has to live with the result—even as the audit that prompted the original closure decision continues to loom over the charter school’s next chapter.

The adult charter school will return to the oversight of Twin Rivers Unified. The district can appeal the county board’s decision to the California State Board of Education.

For now, Twin Rivers says it is still weighing the path forward. “At this time. no decision has been made about whether to pursue an appeal. ” Zenobia Gerald. district spokeswoman. said via email. “We’ll be discussing next steps with our Board of Trustees.” The district did not make a school administrator or board member available for an interview with EdSource.

Twin Rivers Unified, meanwhile, earned $12.9 million in oversight and facility fees from the charter school between 2019-20 and 2023-24. The audit criticized not only the charter but also the County Office of Education and the California Department of Education for not providing adequate oversight to Highlands.

Even before the audit’s findings became public, the charter school had faced investigations and media scrutiny. County school board trustee Heather Davis pressed Twin Rivers on Tuesday night. asking why the district took so long to act. “Why is Twin Rivers so passionate now, when it was going on for a long time,” Davis said. “Where were they?”.

The question landed because Highlands students and staff had already been living with the consequences. After the audit, the charter had been forced to close most of its sites and put students on waiting lists.

Raymond, who now leads the school, is trying to frame what comes next around recovery and compliance—not just survival.

He was named executive director of Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools in Sacramento. with credit shown as courtesy of the organization. Raymond. Sacramento City Unified’s former superintendent. has spent the last 10 months trying to rebuild trust after the audit became public. He took the job in July and immediately asked the charter school’s board members to step down.

Raymond told EdSource Wednesday that he accepted the position because the charter school’s mission inspired him. He also said he saw an opportunity to return to Sacramento and reestablish old relationships that could help the public regain trust.

Since then, Highlands leaders have revised academic, operational and fiscal policies to bring them into compliance with state law and their charter, according to Raymond. They have also hired a new board and impaneled three new board members.

Raymond acknowledged that the former leadership were not good stewards of public funding. “Look, that was on someone else’s watch,” he said. “It’s not going to be on my watch.”

And if the vote was a lifeline, it is also a deadline.

Despite the reversal, Raymond says the work isn’t finished. He is looking for a new authorizer, setting his sights on Yuba City Unified in Sutter County. Raymond has filed a petition with the district. spoke with its leadership. and is hopeful an agreement will be in place by September. He said the school would operate in both Sutter and Sacramento counties.

“It’s a tight timeline, but it’s doable, and we’re excited about that,” Raymond said.

The idea isn’t abstract. Sutter County officials approached the charter about bringing their career, technical and adult education programs to their county. Raymond said the charter’s population—immigrants and refugees—has been moving to Sutter County because it is more affordable than Sacramento County. and because of jobs available there.

He also said Highlands will expand again now that the county board’s decision has kept it open. Since January, enrollment has grown by 800 students.

For Raymond, the immediate goals are spelled out plainly: build trust and restore integrity; raise operational, professional and academic standards; and make decisions in the best interest of students.

“As I said to the board,” Raymond said, “my promise was we would become a school that this community and county and our state could be really proud of.”

Sacramento County Board of Education Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools Jonathan Raymond adult charter school Twin Rivers Unified School District $180 million audit charter revocation California Innovative Career Academy Horizon Community Charter Sutter County Yuba City Unified