Under Siege: Flagship Academy of the Redwoods Is the Prize in a Territory Dispute Between Humboldt County School Districts
Tuesday evening, Fortuna Union High School District circulated an email and a text to students, their families and staff raising alarm bells about a threat to its prized early college high school, Academy of the Redwoods* which is located on the College of the Redwoods campus. Expressing outrage over the development, the mailing called the move–a letter sent by attorneys’ for Eureka City Schools–a “siege” and told recipients, “The notice demands that FUHSD turn over the operations of the Academy of the Redwoods (AR) to ECS.”
An email from Fortuna Union High School District above vows to defend AR “and its students during this siege by ECS.”
The unexpected threat of litigation raised questions about their fates for high school students, teachers, and parents alike, but Academy of the Redwoods Principal Arnold King sent out an email explaining, “While the content of the letter [sent by ECS’s Attorneys] may sound threatening, it is merely one step in a legal process that we expect to be resolved over time without impact to AR’s program, staff, or students.”
A law firm representing Eureka City Schools (ECS) delivered a four page letter to Fortuna Union High School District Superintendent Glen Senestraro which detailed three main points they state favor the Eureka district taking control of Academy of the Redwoods going forward. According to the letter, FUHSD must negotiate with Eureka City Schools to determine which jurisdiction may claim the unique college preparatory high school and its coveted flow of interdistrict transfer students. The letter sent by attorneys at the Lozano Smith law firm which represents ECS, gave three general reasons for the proposed change in governance:
- a challenge as to jurisdictional boundaries that pertain to Academy of the Redwoods (AR) and the Education Code that governs them,
- disputed interdistrict transfers from Eureka City Schools to AR, and
- frustrations with what ECS says are FUHSD’s lack of response to public records act requests.
While the program created under the wing of College of Redwoods has increased in popularity over the years, being one of the first “early college high schools” in the state, it is still one of the few that are situated directly on a college campus. Resting between southern Eureka and the northern edge of Loleta, the rural campus is now in disputed territory, despite having existed for decades under the wing of FUHSD. And, despite the three founding teachers of the Academy of the Redwoods (AR)–Pam Barkdull, Steve Irwin and Bruce McCarthy–all coming from teaching in the FUHS District. A 2005 article from the Times Standard about the school states, “The program comes out of a partnership between CR and the Fortuna Union High School District.”
According to AR’s 2022 School Accountability Report Card, “Academy of the Redwoods was started through a $230,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The school has received an $8,000 grant from the McLean Foundation and a $5,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The school receives the majority of its funding through state and federal sources as a component of the Fortuna Union High School District.” The program is able to lease space from the Redwoods Community College District, in order to maintain the school on the College of the Redwoods campus.
Fortuna’s administrators have been given until February 1st to agree to meet for discussion with their “respective Superintendents, Board Presidents, and legal counsel” as well as Humboldt County Office of Education representatives and with College of the Redwoods to find a solution, “ideally before the commencement of the 2023-2024 school year,” reads the pointed letter. Litigation is mentioned as the next step, should FUHSD not acquiesce to the requests made by Eureka City School’s legal team.
A map of the County shows the school district boundaries. [Image from the Humboldt County Office of Education]
Eureka City Schools is eyeballing the flagship early college high school , which hosts a healthy percentage of students who come from other districts, not only as a part of its jurisdiction, but as a portion of its existing student population. The letter acknowledges that AR’s program is “valuable for youth” and praises its relationship to College of the Redwoods, but makes clear the intentions of Eureka City Schools, reading, “[B]ecause the District sees it as inevitable that the legally proper and best solution as to this dispute is for the seamless transfer of operations of the Academy to the District, the District believes that in the short term the District’s operation of the Academy will clear the way for regular and lawful enrollment of students residing within the District into the Academy.”
The letter lays out ECS’s belief that the high school – which leases space from College of the Redwoods – is not a part of the Fortuna Union High School District (FUHSD), and therefore is part of Eureka’s. Citing Education Code section 35271, which addresses a school district’s “operation of a program/school outside the boundaries of the school district,” Eureka City Schools (ECS) and their lawyers assert that Academy of the Redwoods is too far outside of the FUHSD boundaries, and that the Eureka City Schools can legally take over.
It is worth mentioning that because public education is subsidized by the government (this is why public education is tuition free) each pupil is worth a dollar amount, which the government provides to the district where the student attends. So, each child that relocates from one district to another, takes that public funding with them, to their district of choice.
A message from the Academy of the Redwoods Principal, Arnold King sent to students last night addressed the “legal notice of anticipated litigation.” While it assured AR students that they were “safe,” the letter also cautioned against reacting hastily. King advised students that their “voice is safe,” but also dissuaded affected youth from reading about the issue, writing, “There will be some discourse in the community, in the news, and on social media regarding this matter. You don’t have to worry about or even read any of that. Here at AR, we will continue doing what we’ve always done, helping you prepare for and succeed in your AR and CR courses while staying on your TOES.”
Principal King’s message to students encouraged speaking to teachers, but tactfully discouraged the high school students from speaking out. He wrote, “If you do feel passionate about this situation and wish to express yourself, consult a trusted teacher about what the most effective and productive methods of doing so will be. At this time, all public messaging will go through the Superintendent’s office to make sure that we are speaking with one voice. There may be opportunities in the future when student voices will be needed, and we will let you know when those opportunities arise.”
Having received the letter via email, and looking for answers as to why this unforeseen territorial dispute was erupting now, one mom was ready to conclude it was all about the money. Over the phone, Sarah lamented about the potential upheaval knowing her child was already confused and expressing dismay, saying, “Fortuna High has done an amazing job with AR, and starting it out from scratch. It’s an amazing, nationally renown program, and they have built it into what it is today, it’s a perfect school. There’s no reason to take it away from them, just because of city lines – it seems like there are ulterior motives to doing this, just money…”
Having no idea if her child’s high school future would be further disrupted, or if school officials indeed had things under control, Sarah began to wonder what it would mean to have to ask for an inter-district transfer… perhaps the reason for the feud in the first place.
Typically, when a student and parent request for the child to attend a school that is outside of the school district where they live, they need the agreement to be approved by both the original district, and the district where the student wants to transfer into. Also, having one approved is not always easy. While they are typically frowned on due to the loss of revenue – each student accounted for in a public school system is worth a dollar amount to the district where the student is enrolled – they are generally approved widely.
Noting that the letter from Eureka City Schools’ attorneys was “threatening,” Academy of the Redwood’s Principal Arnold King surmised, “[I]t is merely one step in a legal process that we expect to be resolved over time without impact to AR’s program, staff, or students.” King assured students that “No existing Interdistrict Transfers will be nullified,” adding that any concurrent enrollment with College of the Redwoods is “safe” as well. King went as far as to say that AR’s teachers “and their jobs are safe.”
Referencing years of transfers turned graduates, Eureka City Schools asserted through their attorneys that “there are other students who reside within the [Eureka] District’s boundaries who have been unlawfully enrolled in the Academy by Fortuna over the years, including recent schools years.” The letter further states that going to court is possible not only on the issue of school boundaries, but in regard to the many years of transfer students who commuted out of Eureka, and over to CR’s sprawling campus where Academy of the Redwoods found a footing. Making the ultimatum clear, ECS’s attorney’s wrote, “If litigation between the District and Fortuna becomes necessary as to the Academy overall, the District intends to simultaneously pursue claims against Fortuna for the unlawful enrollment of District students in the absence of compliance with the interdistrict transfer laws” as well as any legal fees that result.
We have reached out to FUHSD Superintendent Senestraro and to ECS Superintendent Fred Van Vleck for comment outside of working hours and, understandably, at the time of publishing they have not replied. If applicable, we’ll update should they get back to us.
According to the letter received by FUHSD Superintendent Senestraro, ECS is poised to play hard ball in order to acquire the school. “Following review of applicable laws, the Academy’s operations, and documents disclosed by Fortuna, the Humboldt County Office of Education, and the College of the Redwoods, the District has concluded with little doubt that Fortuna’s operation of the Academy within the District’s geographic boundaries has been and is unlawful.” While threatening legal action on one hand, the letter from Lozano Smith does confirm that four pending interdistrict transfer requests being appealed currently will be approved, despite their dispute with the existing jurisdictional issues.
*Please note: Both the author of this article and the publisher of this website had a child/children that attended the Academy of the Redwoods up until May of 2020.
This article is written by Ryan Hutson, a local freelance journalist. Follow Ryan at Humboldt Freelance Reporting on Facebook, Insta and YouTube. To support Ryan’s award winning reporting, please consider donating here.
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It’s all about the ADA money, f— the students.
Maybe Eureka should start their own with Cal Poly Humboldt?
The gov of Iowa just signed into law a voucher program, where parents can take the money from the public school and apply it to private schools. Sounds good to me. Also, a Fish and Game officer told a grower they, the F+G, were wanting Garberville to be a ghost town, and they also want all of us out of these hills. Agenda 21 is far more dangerous than Q. If I knew the assholes name, I would put it here.
Cal Poly is in Arcata so Eureka wouldn’t receive anything from them if they started on there. Technically speaking, CR is in the ESD so they can take over. No, I don’t have any children going to AR, so there is no bias in this issue.
Wow, I am in the process of talking to my son, who does great in school, and needs to be challenged more, about going to AR once he gets to high school. I hope this gets straightened out.
Do they accept transfers from SoHum?
Yes . A lot of changes thru my kids time there but still a great way for schooling and Fortuna District has been top notch
According to the agreement by superintendents within Humb Co, all interdistricts turned in during the open enrollment period (typically a three week period in January) will be approved and will be valid for one year, assuming students follow the agreement (good behavior, grades, and attendance). If you enroll your son during this time, and AR agrees to take him, you should be good to go.
Of all the juvenile, self centered moves… Eureka City schools is playing cynical money games with a successful program run by another school. Imagine wasting both school’s money with a law suit, not alleging they can give a superior education but “how dare you take our funding.” There is something going on here but it’s certainly smells like a dog in the manger.
An unbathed and stinky mutt at that.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Who gives a sheet about the kids, I want that funding NOW!—–
Eureka city schools, crack me up, ole Joe got everyone scrapping for every penny.
His name’s Fred
It’s definitely useless sleepy joe!
Of course it is! Thank you for enlightening me!
What would I do without you folks?!
The Lone Rancor.
Coming from a guy that is ok with us taxpayers paying your way.
The answer is clear. With the recent failures of the POS ECS superintendent to properly staff and run EHS, who in their right mind would think he and his staff could do any better with AR. ECS Administrtion needs to completely dissolve and start over before they start reaching for AR.
ECS did this to the Charter School in the Loleta District. Eureka has more money, Loleta could not fight it.
An absolutely pathetic move by Eureka City Schools. Shameless, and really sad.
Sad move, ECS.
eureka is losing students left and right to other districts because of their shitty policies,costing them revenue in the form of public funds that leave with the students who transfer elsewhere.i went to eureka highschool and almost everyone i knew in school have either fled and put their children in other districts or gone the way of a private school.this is nothing but an attempted money grab on the part of ecs.
If I am understanding this, Fortuna High and Redwood College did all the work and raised funding to make this happen. The program has become successful so Eureka City Schools wants to claim it? Why not use all this energy to develop their own program? Not like there is not a need for more educational outlets locally.
Not to mention HCOE and CR offered the Idea to ECS first and they said no. Fortuna took the ball and ran with it making it a huge success. 17 years later this Fred Van turd see’s dollar signs and all of a sudden wants his cut. Have some class Eureka City Schools!
ECS has never developed anything under Fred. This is what he resorts to. Not a creative bone in his body, so looks to steal a successful program from another district
Why not use all this energy to develop their own program?
Because ECS is incompetent and Van Vleck is a POS.
School Choice would be best solution, let parents choose best school for their kids and bring their state funding to that school
Epic article Ryan!!!
This AR program was one of the only glimmers of hope for high school for my southern Humboldt child. The local schools are atrocious I think because they don’t pay living wages. If this is no longer an option for children in Southern Humboldt that would be life altering for so many. I wager many would relocate out of the area.
I appreciate your feedback, thank you. Of course, I also am hopeful that So Hum kids have the opportunity to attend the HS that is the best fit for them. I know for my kid, it was AR – so for us, it required an annual inter-district transfer to be approved, and although they are sort of a process to obtain, good to know that they are rarely denied.
The only problem is the last paragraph leads one to believe that the quote of AR being unlawful is applied to Senestraro. The timing of that quote after saying that Senestraro was willing to play hardball needs to be re-written.
Perhaps I could have been more clear in spelling it out, but it does say “according to a letter received by Senestraro… ECS is poised to play hard ball…”
Thank you for your feedback, Hiker. Writing/editing late night can be a trick when one is burning the candle from both ends, so to speak, so do most journalists. So, I appreciate your vigilance.
In other news, Eureka City Schools vows to change their mascot from the Loggers to the Pirates, and the new school motto will be, “You build it, we’ll steal it!”
Back in the day Eureka City Schools had 8,000 students. Zane, Winship, and Jacobs were Junior Highs: 7th, 8th & 9th grades. Jacobs was recently torn down. Zane and Winship are now Middle Schools: 6th, 7th, & 8th grades. Many elementary schools have also been closed, and now Eureka City Schools has only 3,600 students. Loss of a lot of families and students. Draw your own conclusions.
If Eureka manages anything it will be worse.
First they sue Pacific View, then threaten Alder Grove, then try to force a takeover of South Bay District, and now this. What a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars meant for student education (and not lawyers). “Lozano Smith, attorneys sponsored by Eureka City Schools.”
What a bunch of BS! If it isn’t broke don’t fix it.
What does Fred Van Vleck, John Ford, and Vladimir Putin have in common?
Sounds like what the kids call a “dick move” by ECS.
Sounds to me like ECS is, once again, being the bully.
This is Fred going for the money. I wished he cared about students as much as he cares about money. The man is morally bankrupt.
Fred must work for betsy DeVos
Sounds like time to Recall ECS board. Bunch of newbies getting played by their Super.
Time for the board to axe Fred. Have some guts. Listen to your employees and families and get rid of him. Then hire someone who is people oriented and get ECS back on track.
I don’t know that Eureka ran school busses all the way to CR. How long have they been doing this?
I was there at the founding of Academy of the Redwoods. My partner teachers Pam Barkdull, Bruce McCarthy and I under the stewardship of HCOE’s then assistant superintendent, Jon Sapper wrote the application for the Bill and Melinda Gates grant, received it, and started the school. We met many times with other districts during the implementation. There was little or no interest. We gained HCOE’s and CR’s support. We worked long and hard to make a strong educational alternative for area high school students. It was not easy. There were many obstacles–professional and administrative. It has taken years for the Academy to earn its place. AR started as an orphan, mostly resisted or ignored. It’s grown up to be a fine young institution. So somebody else wants to put their name on it. Somebody who lacks the imagination, the will and the integrity to build their own unique school to meet the needs of some of our kids.
Steve Irwin
FUHSD/AR 1983-2008
Steve, thank you for contributing this bit of important insight! It must have been a colossal undertaking.
My two oldest loved Mr. Irwin. Although, I’m pretty sure my oldest contributed to at least an hour or two of Steve contemplating throttling him.
Definition: Parasite. Merriam-Webster
1. An organism living in , on, or with an organism in order to obtain nutrients, grow, or multiply often in a state that directly or indirectly harms the host.
2. Someone or something that resembles a biological parasite in living off of, being dependent on, or exploiting another while giving nothing in return.
Synonyms :bloodsucker, free rider, freeloader, sponger, leech, moocher. And Eureka City Schools Executive Administration.
Maybe if ECS wants to retain students in their district, they should improve their own programs instead of trying to steal (and likely irreparably harm) a successful one. Based on how aggressive they are about interdistrict transfers, they’ll also likely limit the number of future students from other districts (not limited to FUHSD) from attending. Surely preventing kids in Humboldt from having access to the education they want is just what the county needs more of. All ECS cares about in this situation is money, not students.
Also, I believe the program was first brought and proposed to ECS in 2003 and they rejected it (FUHSD clearly didn’t). They had their chance to improve the educational offerings in the county for future generations (and even make money off of it) and weren’t interested — leave AR alone.
THURSDAY, FEB 2nd – There is a pre-Board meeting gathering of interested parties at 5:00 P.M. in support of Academy of the Redwoods against the threatened legal action of Eureka City Schools to force FUHSD to give them Academy of the Redwoods.
Share your views with the public, and then with the ECS school board at their meeting, which begins at 6:30.
Picket signs optional.
Kindness and respect are not optional.
https://fb.me/e/2DODohODc