Ratta has two children in the Vista school district. This is only the second charter petition to come before the Vista school board. It was approved in 1994. Run on public funds, charter schools can operate independent of most state education code and local regulations in exchange for meeting specific student achievement goals. The new law has increased the number of charter schools allowed in the state from 100 to 250.
School boards can reject a charter application only if it falls short of specific criteria.