Oxford Prep Expansion Plan Bashed by CUSD Staff

A charter school wants to grow, but Capo Unified staffers oppose the idea, saying the campus has failed to explain how it would pay for the expansion.

, the charter school sharing a campus with , wants to expand its enrollment by about 150 students. It also wants to change how often its board meets and what its board members are called.

But Capistrano Unified School District staffers don't think Oxford leaders have explained how their school can accommodate the new students. And they say the board changes might reduce parental involvement and create conflicts of interest.

The report also notes the district would lose tax revenue. Expanding the school would "result in a loss of enrollment from additional students leaving District schools to attend Oxford Preparatory Academy," it said. (School districts receive money for each enrolled student.)

The school's requests "do not provide information explaining how ... a larger program could operate in the same way as the existing program without changes to other aspects of operation (i.e. personnel and finance)," the district report says.

The report also criticizes Oxford for not including a revised budget for the district's consideration.

Also, says the staff report, the five months Oxford has been in place have "not been without significant incidents." In that time, more than 100 Barcelona parents . Also, the district to resolve problems between the two schools.

Staff writer Penny Arévalo helped with this report.