CHULA VISTA – Feaster Charter School, previously the county's only public school managed by a for-profit company, will get a fresh start next month with a new principal and new governing board.

Marilyn Prall will start as principal at the Chula Vista school on July 1. She was an assistant principal at Feaster 11 years ago when it became a charter school managed by New York-based Edison Schools.

The school's test scores soared for years before they plateaued amid controversy over how it should be governed.

Also on July 1, Feaster will get a new board with a parent majority that replaces the current board with its employee majority.

“This is about getting it back on track,” said Superintendent Lowell Billings of the Chula Vista Elementary School District.

In March, Billings issued a letter to the school warning it to clean up problems with the governance of the school or face revocation of its charter.

Charter schools pledge to meet academic goals in exchange for freedom from many state regulations such as those on how to spend money. Local school boards grant these schools the license to operate by approving the charter, or founding document.

Feaster had been a traditional public school when its staff decided it wanted the freedom to run its affairs.

At the same time that they applied for charter status, staff members also hired Edison Schools, a New York-based for-profit company, to manage the school by providing curriculum, staff training, computers and other services. Edison runs nearly 100 schools nationwide and in the United Kingdom.

The school has sent about $6 million to Edison over the course of a decade.

From 1999 to 2006, Feaster-Edison, as it was then known, improved its state test scores more than any other public school in the county.

But during the 2006-07 school year, Feaster's staff and board debated whether to renew the contract with Edison. The discussion over the school's future and the renegotiation of the contract took up a great deal of time, and the principal acknowledged that it distracted the staff from its main job of teaching. Test scores went down.

Then in December, the board rejected the principal's recommendation for bonuses for teachers because the school didn't have the money. The vote was controversial in part because so many board members had to recuse themselves. They had a direct stake in the vote because they were school employees.

Feaster Principal Erik Latoni has resigned, effective at the end of June. Billings said Latoni is considering going back into teaching.

The principals of Castle Park, Hilltop Drive and Valle Lindo elementary schools also have resigned, Billings said. Alicia Moreno will be Castle Park Elementary's new principal, Leonard Hernandez will take over at Hilltop and Theresa Corona will lead Valle Lindo. Santos Gonzalez will fill the vacancy created by the departure of Prall, Feaster's new principal, from Liberty Elementary.

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Chris Moran: (619) 498-6637; chris.moran@uniontrib.com