Proposed Dublin Charter School Appears to be on Hold

A controversial effort to open a charter school in Dublin has apparently reached a standstill. The application for the new high school, Tassajara Preparatory, has been withdrawn, according to the .

"We received word from the State Department (of Education) that the petition for Tassajara Prep has been pulled," DUSD Superintendent Stephen Hanke told Dublin Patch on Wednesday.

Hanke added that the district, which has opposed the new school, is in the process of communicating the news to the community.

The California Department of Education Charter Schools Division confirmed that the petition was pulled.

The Tri-Valley Learning Corporation, which runs the newly established Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School, was behind the proposal. No one from the corporation could be reached Wednesday afternoon for comment.

If the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation wants to resubmit the proposal it can do so at any time, but would need to go through the same process as before — by resubmitting the proposal to the and the Alameda County Office of Education.

The proposed charter school was denied by both agencies last year and was in the process of appealing those decisions to the state.

Earlier this month, one of the founders of the proposed charter school, Dublin resident John Zukoski, . He stressed that when Dublin reaches a projected population of 81,000-plus residents, more than one high school will be needed.

Opponents have stated that they're concerned about the impact a charter school could have on district resources. More than 1,600 signatures were gathered in the community to protest the charter-school petition.

Tassajara Prep was intended to serve grades nine through 12 and enroll 864 students at capacity. According to the school's website, the school initially planned to use one of DUSD's existing buildings until it built a facility in east Dublin.

In addition to Zukoski, the founders of Tassajara Prep are Rully Kusuma, Tim Hall and Jimmy Huang. 

Board members include President Len Di Gioanni of Pleasanton, co-founder and COO of Boresha International Inc.; treasurer Neil Cowles, CEO of  Tolven Inc.; Rick Swiers; Tim Hall; and Dave Vopnford.

Zukoksi's father, also named John, also is a member of the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation board of directors.

Dublin Patch will continue to update this story when further details are available.