Highlands charter – A long-suspended adult charter school network in Sacramento will remain open after the Sacramento County Board of Education voted to reverse a decision that would have revoked its charters. The reversal came after evidence tied to a state audit about improperl
For nearly four hours, the room held its breath—then exhaled when the vote landed.
Tuesday night, hundreds of students, staff and community activists packed multiple rooms inside the Sacramento County Board of Education meeting. Many arrived by bus. many came wearing T-shirts reading “It’s never too late. ” and when the board reversed a closure decision. the cheering was immediate and loud. For Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools—an adult charter network that serves students through its California Innovative Career Academy and Horizon Community Charter—Tuesday marked the end of a fight that had already cost people classrooms. jobs and stability.
The school’s future was thrown into jeopardy after a state audit found the charter had improperly collected $180 million in public funding and violated multiple education rules. The initial closure decision that Twin Rivers Unified School District took was later revoked by the county board.
That reversal did not erase the audit. It simply changed who gets to decide what happens next.
The vote that kept the doors open
The county board’s decision came down to whether the evidence in the record supported Twin Rivers Unified’s decision to revoke the schools’ charters. Lawyers told board members they were limited to that question. Members grappled with conflicting testimony—between the district and the charter—before they reached a point where they could not agree.
In the end, a motion to reverse the revocation of each charter passed 4-3 after a hearing that stretched for four hours.
Executive Director Jonathan Raymond said the vote gives students and staff a chance to continue their work. In a statement. he said: “This vote gives our students and staff the opportunity to continue the important work of rebuilding this institution and delivering on our mission. Our students deserve stability, support and the opportunity to complete their education. We remain fully committed to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.”.
The charter opened in 2014 with the mission of helping adult students—many formerly incarcerated or new immigrants—earn a diploma, improve English language skills, or learn a trade. Within a decade, it grew into a statewide network serving 13,700 students across 50 sites.
But the audit changed everything. After the findings became public, the school faced site closures and staff layoffs, and many students landed on waiting lists.
The human cost was present before the vote ever happened.
One mother described what the diploma means
About 40 supporters stepped forward to share personal stories of how instruction from “caring teachers” had changed their lives. Several told the board that the school helped them learn to speak English and earn a high school diploma. Others said they feared that closure would mean the end of their education.
Among them was Sonya Bonnett, a Sacramento mother of four who said she was shaking with emotion as she spoke. “I want to get my diploma so I can put it on the wall,” Bonnett said. “I’m 68 years old. It’s time for me.”
Her words landed in a room that included not just students, but community activists who made clear this wasn’t an abstract dispute about oversight.
The charter network has become a lifeline—and also a symbol of California’s charter oversight failures.
Twin Rivers, the audit, and a delayed response
Twin Rivers Unified staff pointed to many of the same problems the audit documented when they decided to revoke Highlands’ charters.
For the county board meeting, officials also faced a question that hovered over the testimony: why the district moved so slowly.
Even before the audit, Highlands Community Charter had been the subject of investigations and media scrutiny. County school board trustee Heather Davis asked why Twin Rivers took so long to act. She said on Tuesday night: “Why is Twin Rivers so passionate now. when it was going on for a long time. Where were they?”.
Raymond said he understands the scrutiny—and the stakes.
A new executive director brought in after the audit
Raymond has been at the helm of the charter network as it has tried to recover. He has spent the last 10 months rebuilding trust, after taking over the job in July following the audit becoming public. He began by asking Highlands charter board members to step down.
He told EdSource Wednesday that he took the role because the charter school’s mission inspired him. He also described a practical motive: returning to Sacramento and reestablishing relationships that could help the public regain trust.
Raymond said Highlands leaders have since revised academic, operational and fiscal policies to bring them into compliance with state law and their charter. He said they have hired new school leaders and impaneled three new board members.
On responsibility for what went wrong, Raymond acknowledged that the charter’s former leadership were not good stewards of public funding. “Look, that was on someone else’s watch,” Raymond said. “It’s not going to be on my watch.”
Oversight returns to Twin Rivers—if they choose to appeal
After Tuesday’s vote, the adult charter school will return to the oversight of Twin Rivers Unified. The district has the option to appeal the county board’s decision to the California State Board of Education.
Zenobia Gerald, the district spokeswoman, said in an email that “At this time, no decision has been made about whether to pursue an appeal.” She added, “We’ll be discussing next steps with our Board of Trustees.”
Twin Rivers Unified did not make a school administrator or board member available for an interview with EdSource.
The financial relationship between the district and the charter is already part of the audit’s backdrop. Twin Rivers Unified earned $12.9 million in oversight and facility fees from the charter school between 2019-20 and 2023-24. The audit criticized Twin Rivers Unified. the County Office of Education. and the California Department of Education for not providing adequate oversight.
Why the charter is looking beyond Sacramento
Even with the county board’s reversal, Raymond says the work is not done.
Now he is looking for a new authorizer. His sights are set on Yuba City Unified in Sutter County.
Raymond said he has filed a petition with the district and spoken with its leadership, and he is hopeful an agreement could 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 push toward Sutter County reflects a shift Raymond says is already happening among the charter’s population. He said Sutter County officials approached the charter about bringing their career, technical and adult education programs there. Raymond pointed to what he believes is driving demand: “We’ve realized that a lot of the population we serve — immigrants and refugees — are now moving up to Sutter County because it’s more affordable than Sacramento County. ” he said. “And there are also jobs up in Sutter County.”.
After the audit, the school was forced to close most of its sites and put students on waiting lists. Raymond said the school will expand again and noted enrollment has grown by 800 students since January.
Three goals for what comes next
In the months ahead, Raymond described three near-term goals for the charter network: build trust and restore integrity; raise operational, professional and academic standards; and make decisions in the best interest of the students.
As he put it to the board, his promise was that the school would become something the community, the county and the state could be proud of.
Now the immediate pressure is not whether the charter will close. It’s whether it can regain trust fast enough to stabilize the lives of the students who showed up Tuesday night expecting a chance to finish what they started.
Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools Sacramento County Board of Education Twin Rivers Unified School District charter school oversight state audit $180 million adult education California Innovative Career Academy Horizon Community Charter Jonathan Raymond Heather Davis Zenobia Gerald Yuba City Unified Sutter County immigrants and refugees English language learning high school diploma
So they’re staying open? Good, I guess.
I don’t even get how “improperly collected” turns into “we reversed it.” Like did the audit just… change its mind? Sounds like politics to me.
Wait, are they moving to Yuba City or is it just the title doing clickbait stuff? I thought the issue was Sacramento charter stuff, not some relocation. Also “hundreds arrived by bus” doesn’t mean it’s right, just means people showed up.
$180 million is a lot, so if they “fixed” it then fine, but I still don’t trust that board. Feels like they reversed it because the crowd was loud and everybody was cheering. Next thing you know, another audit and more delays… meanwhile students got jerked around anyway.