Oregon Public Broadcasting

Students and officials in East Portland are waiting this week for a final decision on a charter school. As  Rob Manning reports, the local school district has tried to shut the charter down.

The David Douglas school board approved the Azbuka Academy in 2008 as a charter high school geared for the area's growing Slavic population.

The district began worrying about Azbuka shortly after it opened – at first, because the school was accepting juniors, even though it was only  approved for 9th and 10th grades.

A Portland State University audit later criticized the school's every-other-day schedule, bookkeeping and time dedicated to teaching students English. Azbuka leaders have objected to how the PSU report was put together.

The David Douglas school board voted to terminate Azbuka Academy last year, but the charter school appealed.

State officials issued a draft rejection of the appeal this month. A final decision could come any day. Either side could challenge that to the state Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, the district says roughly 50 students don't know if their school will be open, when classes resume in a couple of weeks.