Charter School Fate Unsure - Marin IJ - August 25, 2001

Marin IJ - Charter school fate unsure
www.marinij.com/news/archive/Friday/stories/news2001915.shtml
Published on: 8/25/2001 Last Visited: 8/25/2001

Meanwhile , the appointment by the charter school board of Christina Windsor - the controversial former Sausalito-Marin City principal who was fired by the district last year and is now suing the district - as the school's interim principal was left dangling along with the fate of the school.

Hanging in the balance are about 65 children from kindergarten to fourth grade who were to start school tentatively in mid-September.

Board members saluted the efforts of the new Marin City Charter School Board whose members met for the first time in June and rushed to pound out critical elements , including curriculum , budget , facilities , staff training and school calendar , before school could open by a Sept. 17 deadline

Trustees , however , were concerned about the charter school's readiness to open.

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The charter school selected Christina Windsor last week as its interim principal for one year and made its recommendation to district trustees last night.

The district fired Windsor as principal at the Bayside-Martin Luther King School last year , claiming she failed to obtain the proper administrative credentials required by California law.

Windsor sued , saying she was denied a fair and open hearing as required by district policies and that the district lead her to believe credentials from her previous job in Iowa were sufficient. She is also appealing a separate ruling in September that upheld her termination.

She filed a second lawsuit in May claiming defamation , conspiracy , breach of contract and other violations.

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It further charges that Roberson ordered Windsor to extend the suspension of two black students to appease a white family in the district.
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If Windsor wins the appeal , she can amend the other lawsuit. If she loses , she can pick up the $5 million suit where she left off. The ruling spared the Sausalito school district the expense of litigating two cases at once.

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It is unbecoming for the district to meddle and attempt to block her hire as principal , Metcalf said , calling Windsor a competent educator and the best person for the job