Payton Guion

@PaytonGuion

The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into enrollment practices at Red Bank Charter School amid longstanding complaints that the school does not enroll enough minority students.

The investigation was opened Jan. 31, according to a U.S. Department of Education spokesman. It stems from a civil rights complaint by a group of public school parents and a Latino advocacy organization who allege the school is in violation of a consent decree requiring its demographics match those of Red Bank.

Critics of the charter school have long complained that minorities are underrepresented in the charter school, contributing to an over-representation of minorities in the public school district, where the population is also more economically challenged than the charter school's enrollment.

According to state data, the charter school is 50 percent white, while the borough schools are about 7 percent white. Hispanics comprise just 38.5 percent of the charter school, while they are 81 percent of the borough schools. Both are about 10 percent black.

READ: Red Bank schools improve as tensions simmer with charter

The complaint was brought by Fair Schools Red Bank, a group of parents with children in Red Bank public schools, and the advocacy group Latino Coalition of New Jersey. Both the Education Department and the Justice Department received the complaint, which was filed in November, according to a Education Department official.

Their complaint accuses the charter school, by virtue of its enrollment practices, of making Red Bank "the most segregated school district in the state of New Jersey."

In a prepared statement, Charter school Principal Meredith Pennotti rejected that notion and denied the charter school has done anything wrong.

"We are confident that when the U.S. Department of Education actually takes a closer look into these unsubstantiated allegations, they will find Red Bank Charter School to be a model for how districts can create an academically high-achieving integrated school in a racially diverse district," she said.

"The DOE will also quickly discover that these detractors lack any credibility whatsoever, especially when one of its leaders calls a school with more than 50 percent minorities a 'bastion of segregation,'" Pennotti said.

In a Nov. 10 op-ed in the Asbury Park Press, Pennotti wrote that the school-age population of Red Bank is 41 percent white, 40 percent Latino and 18 percent black, which is close to the charter school's demographics. The complain notes, however, that those numbers, from the Census Bureau, include everyone under 18 in Red Bank, not just school-aged kids.

Red Bank Charter opened in 1998 to give borough parents and students another alternative to the public school district. Charters are public schools that exist independent of the centralized decision-making and costly collective bargaining agreements that typically bind public school districts.

They have an agreement – a charter – with the state Board of Education by which they have to abide. The state evaluates charter schools every five years.

The dispute partly reflects the natural tension between charter schools and traditional public schools, which compete for both students and public dollars. Many public school parents and public employee unions see the charters as a drain on the public school districts.

Charter proponents, including new U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, promote charters as less costly alternatives to public schools that have long failed to improve student achievement.

Those arguments have swirled for years in Red Bank, where the charter school has largely outperformed the school district academically, though the school district has been gaining ground.

In December 2015, Red Bank Charter submitted an application to expand its enrollment from 200 students to 400. It was denied after backlash from borough residents and officials. At the time, they complained of the same issues reflected in the subsequent complaint to the federal government.

Lazaro Cardenas, deputy director of the Latino Coalition, said Red Bank Charter School had "one of the worst cases" of segregation that he's ever seen.

"They've been able to keep black and brown kids out of that school very successfully," Cardenas said.

Data from the state Department of Education show that the disparity in enrollment between the charter school and the borough school is also economic.

MORE: Report says Red Bank Charter is segregating children

Red Bank Borough Schools' population is 89 percent economically disadvantaged, compared to just 41 percent at the charter school. Economically disadvantaged students are those who get free or reduced-price lunches.

Additionally, 38 percent of district school students have limited proficiency in English; only 3.5 percent of the charter school students fall into this category.

The Education Department declined further comment on the investigation. Wayne Woolley, who is a member of Fair Schools Red Bank and has daughters in borough schools, said he didn't expect a resolution from the investigation anytime soon.

"They haven't given us a time line or any assurance that they'll continue the investigation," Woolley said, adding that the investigators still are asking for more information on demographics of the charter school.

In an effort to make the school more diverse, Red Bank Charter began a weighted lottery last year that gives preference to economically disadvantaged students. Pennotti acknowledged changing the schools demographics to better mirror Red Bank will be a slow process.

“How long is that going to take? Forever," she said in an interview last year. "But we’re working on it.”

Frank Argote-Freyre, director of the Latino Coalition of New Jersey, said that while the Education Department is primarily investigating Red Bank Charter School, it also has indicated it would look into segregation at other charters in the state.

"Red Bank is a very diverse community," Argote-Freyre said. "Somehow, using public money, this school has managed to create a wealthy, white enclave."

RED BANK: Federal segregation complaint filed against Red Bank Charter School

MORE: Red Bank Charter to change admissions lottery

READ: Lakewood, Asbury Park charter schools approved

Payton Guion: pguion@app.com; 732-643-4245