After 10 months of discussions among attorneys, school and district officials, an application for a 5-year-old Camarillo charter school was renewed Thursday night.

The Pleasant Valley School District board voted unanimously to approve the request from University Preparation School, a charter that partners with CSU Channel Islands to train teachers in its pre-K through fifth-grade classrooms.

The school was founded in 2001 by representatives from school districts throughout Ventura County, as well as CSU Channel Islands and the Ventura County Office of Education, many of whom continue to sit on the school's board. It opened to students in 2002.

On the way out the door of Camarillo City Hall Thursday, University Prep Superintendent and Principal Linda Ngarupe thanked a few dozen parents and school staff members who went to the meeting to lend their support for the school.

"Thanks for coming," she told them. "It really could have gone either way."

She felt uncertain though the district and school agreed the charter renewal met all of the legal requirements for its approval.

"It has been a very frustrating situation," Ngarupe said. "I just think it's different because there has been a change in administration."

District leadership has changed twice since the charter was first approved. This year's renewal process also was delayed when former Superintendent Thomas Dase left the district shortly after school started.

The new administration, Ngarupe added, didn't seem to understand the circumstances surrounding the charter opening in Camarillo and being housed in its Temple Avenue campus.

The school was going to be closed when the charter opened. University Prep, which has about 500 students and consistently has a waiting list for spots on its campus, has always given priority to students from the neighborhood.

Assistant Superintendent Barbara Davis from Pleasant Valley said Thursday that it had been a privilege for her to serve on the charter school's board for the past couple years Pleasant Valley has two seats on the board according to the charter agreement. She recommended trustees approve the renewal, but with some strings.

Its approval was contingent on several memorandums of understanding being finalized between the district and the charter school. If that doesn't happen by June 14, the petition would become null and void, according to the trustees' motion.

Staff had recommended the deadline be the July 1, but board President Ron Speakman asked to get the information earlier or he wouldn't be able to support its approval.

Trustee Sandra Berg said she supported the school continuing. Earlier in the meeting, however, she spent several minutes urging proponents of a new charter school proposal to change their minds about their plans.

She asked them to consider how the district would be impacted by the potential loss of students and funding.

Parents and teachers from Los Senderos Open School submitted that charter application in March after trustees, including Berg, voted to dismantle their K-7 school.

The board said they designated another campus as a K-5 open philosophy magnet school and Los Senderos students would get priority there after children from the neighborhood.

But parents said they have lost their middle school grades and don't believe that their program will stay intact. Their charter application is expected to go to the board later this month.

For University Prep, the outstanding legal agreements determine services and facilities provided by the district and the how much those will cost the charter school. In this case, the three agreements that have to be finalized refer to special education services, facilities and general operations.

In the past, the school has contracted with the district for many services and paid Pleasant Valley more than $225,000 a year, including $25,000 toward the salary of an employee in the business office.

Next year, that arrangement is expected to be scaled back.

Ngarupe said district administration didn't want the practice to continue, and University Prep was able to find many of the services available elsewhere.

At prior meetings, trustees and district staff members have discussed the burden charter schools place on districts in terms of administrative duties.

Ngarupe took offense to that. "We're responsible for our school," she said later. "And, we take it very seriously."

Sponsoring districts do have some responsibilities to provide administrative oversight. University Prep compensates Pleasant Valley for that work with 3 percent of its annual revenue, as required by law. That totals about $76,000.