Odyssey Charter School battles closure

Terry Webster

Tuesday, April 11, 2000 | 10:39 a.m.

More than 260 schoolchildren could be displaced if the Nevada Department of Education cuts off funding for the Odyssey Charter School.

A lawsuit filed by Martin J. Kravitz of the Kravitz, Schnitzer & Sloane law firm, maintains that parents of children attending the school did not receive due process in the decision to cut off funding. Kravitz asks for an injunction that would prevent the state from withholding the money.

Kravitz said this morning that he would try to get a hearing on the injunction as soon as possible to keep the school from closing. If the school were forced to close, its students would likely have to go back to public schools two months before the end of the school year.

"The real tragedy is these kids are going to be jumping into another curriculum at the end of the year," Kravitz said.

Leland Pace is one of several parents listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit that names the Nevada State Department of Education, state Schools Superintendent Mary Peterson and the Clark County School District as defendants.

Pace said he has a son whose disability prevents him from performing well in a regular school setting. At Odyssey School, students complete course work on computers at home and meet with teachers once a week to review students' progress. The school opened last fall.

The school's basic operation is that children in grades kindergarten through eight are taught on a more flexible schedule than standard public schools. For example, Odyssey allows course work to be taught on any day, yearround, while public school curriculum requires 180 days of instruction with a set schedule per day.

The lawsuit states that the charter became part of a contract between the school district and Odyssey for six years. It also indicates the school district has not taken any proceedings to remove the charter.

"Essentially once you grant a license and accept it, you can't change it," Kravitz said this morning.

"Defendants Peterson and the Nevada Department of Education have arbitrarily and capriciously determined, with less than two months left in the current school year, to cut off funding for Odyssey," Kravitz states in the lawsuit.

"This would result in a breach of all contracts entered into between Odyssey and its teachers and staff, leave more than 260 children unsupervised in their educational experience and make the parents and its class members return their children to the Clark County School District."

State and Odyssey school officials, Kravitz and Clark County School District attorney Bill Hoffman were not available comment this morning.

Terry Webster covers education for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4091 or by e-mail at terry@lasvegassun.com

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