Fire Officials Close "Dangerous" and "Unsafe" Pasadena Charter School

[mark handler]

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Fire-Officials-Close-Dangerous-and-Unsafe-Pasadena-Charter-School-272999041.html

Fire officials found that the Celerity Exa Charter School was operating out of the basement of building.

By Samia Khan

Fire officials shut down a Pasadena charter school Tuesday that was in charge of 300 students for "dangerous and unsafe conditions" and now parents are left wondering where to send their children to school. Kim Baldonado reports for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. from Pasadena Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014.

Thursday, Aug 28, 2014 • Updated at 4:00 AM PDT

A charter school that serves hundreds of students in Pasadena has been ordered to close after fire officials found the school’s building to be dangerous and unsafe, forcing students to go on all-day field trips until the matter is resolved.

The Celerity Exa Charter School at 1530 Elizabeth Street sits on the William Carey International University Campus and serves approximately 300 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

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The Pasadena Fire Department investigated the school’s conditions Tuesday after receiving a call from a concerned parent who said that the school was being operated out of the basement of a building that is traditionally used as office space.

According to Pasadena Fire Capt. Anthony Bagan, operating out of a basement is a violation of the California fire code.

Officials found that the school did not have a permit to operate an educational facility there and that the building was not equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system or fire alarm system. The school also maintained inadequate exiting.

"The safety of children is our top priority and we take this situation very seriously," Pasadena Fire Marshal Calvin E. Wells said in a statement.

Pasadena Unified School District officials are aware of the closure and are in support of the decision, according to the Pasadena Fire Department.

Parents who spoke with NBC4, however, are not in favor of the closure.

"Absolutely upset," parent Andrew McGraw said. "Because it's putting our children, not only in danger, but it's jeopardizing their education.

The school is chartered by PUSD and operated by Celerity Educational Group. Celerity Educational Group oversees charter schools in Southern California, Ohio, Florida and Louisiana.

The students will be taking field trips until the safety concerns are sorted out.

A school district board meeting will be held Thursday. Some parents told NBC4 they will be there to protest.

 

[cda]

""""Officials found that the school did not have a permit to operate an educational facility"""

""""Parents who spoke with NBC4, however, are not in favor of the closure.

"Absolutely upset," parent Andrew McGraw said. "Because it's putting our children, not only in danger, but it's jeopardizing their education.""""

So they are in no way blaming the school???

Love today's way of thinking

 

[kilitact]

A lot of unanswered questions here. One is how did PUSD provide a charter for this school without jumping thru the realm of hoops required in this State?

 

[mark handler]

This May answer some of your questions

Celerity Exa Charter School closed by Pasadena fire marshal after building deemed unsafe

By Sarah Favot, Pasadena Star-News

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/social-affairs/20140826/celerity-exa-charter-school-closed-by-pasadena-fire-marshal-after-building-deemed-unsafe

POSTED: 08/26/14, 6:02 PM PDT

PASADENA >> A charter school was shut down Tuesday after the city’s fire marshal determined the school’s building unsafe and several fire code violations created an “imminent danger” to the school’s 300 students.

Celerity Exa Charter School, which operates out of the William Carey University site at 1530 Elizabeth St., received notice Tuesday that students and staff must vacate the premises until several life-safety violations were rectified, officials said.

Pasadena Fire Marshal and Fire Chief Calvin Wells determined the charter school does not have a permit to operate an educational facility at the site, the building is neither equipped with an automatic sprinkler system nor a fire alarm system and there is inadequate egress from with building, because it lacks the required number of exits and exit lighting, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.

Derderian said it would likely take months for the charter school to rectify the building’s code violations.

“With the amount of issues that have to be addressed and the funding it would take to be in compliance, it would probably be an extended period of months,” she said.

Curt Hessler, lead board member of the Celerity Education Group, the charter’s parent nonprofit group, said the school would address the issues.

“We’ll have to get this settled within a very short period of time and we will do so,” said Hessler, who lives in Pasadena.

He said the school was not aware of the code violations and the fire marshal’s orders were unexpected.

“We may have to locate the school temporarily in other facilities,” Hessler said.

He said field trips were planned for today and Thursday before the Labor Day break, so parents were told those field trips would go on.

Derderian said the Fire Department received a call from a concerned parent about the violations.

Students were able to finish classes Tuesday, although students in kindergarten through third grade with classes in the basement of the building were relocated to the school’s auditorium, Derderian said.

The charter school, which opened in the fall of 2012, serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It is operated by Celerity Educational Group, which oversees several charter schools throughout Southern California, as well as in Ohio, Florida and Louisiana.

The school is chartered by the Pasadena Unified School District.

PUSD spokesman Adam Wolfson said Celerity parents are welcome to bring their children back into a PUSD school.

“We want to make sure the students have a high-quality education,” he said. “They’re certainly welcomed back to the district, those families that are residents within PUSD boundaries.”

PUSD Interim Superintendent Brian McDonald sent Celerity Educational Group CEO Vielka McFarlane and Miguel Potillo a letter Tuesday notifying them the school must rectify the violations within one week.

“If within one week you are not able to locate a safe and appropriate school site to ensure that the students’ educational program is not interrupted, we ask that you suspend your operations for the 2014-2015 school year,” McDonald wrote.

McDonald said the charter school was in violation of education code.

When Celerity Exa opened, it operated out of the Hodges Children’s Center and the Carey site. The next year, the charter school filed a request with PUSD to operate out of the former Edison School. Wolfson said Celerity did not re-apply to operate at the Edison School and so it moved all of its operations to the Carey site.

According to McDonald’s letter, Celerity was required under the memorandum of understanding it signed with the district to notify PUSD that it planned to operate out of a private facility and that proper permits and inspections must be obtained by the Fire Department.

“PUSD hereby demands that by the close of business today, Celerity immediately cease all operations at the Carey site, in accordance with fire marshal orders, and not re-open the school unless and until the facility passes fire inspections and the proper permits are obtained,” McDonald wrote.