Alachua County School Board votes to challenge Newberry charter school conversion
That decision comes after the Florida Department of Education's Charter School Review Commission last month approved the application to convert Newberry Elementary School into a public charter school beginning with 2026-27 school year.
School board member Tina Certain, who attended the Charter School Review Commission meeting in Orlando on Feb. 26, made the motion, which included exploring "all available legal actions" regarding the charter approval.
"I really do hope you guys support the motion, we file the appeal, and I am ready for doing a whole lot more than that," Certain said.
The Charter School Review Commission unanimously approved the Newberry Community School Board's application despite a controversial vote in April 2024 in which it was determined that exactly half of the parents at Newberry Elementary voted in favor of the charter conversion.
A state rule that has since been amended called for a majority of teachers and parents at a school attempting a charter conversion to approve the measure. The state Board of Education in August, however, amended the rule to allow for only 50% of teachers and 50% of parents — instead of a majority — to approve a charter conversion for it to pass.
"These people did not follow the rules in any step of the way," board member Thomas Vu said. "They lost the vote, it was never contested, and no one's ever ruled otherwise with any authority that has a say otherwise — even Florida's attorney general refused to comment and rule on this, if that tells you anything."
Vu went on to vehemently question the notion that the charter conversion plan began as a grassroots campaign by concerned local parents. He noted its strong financial backing, its support by Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe, the use of city resources, and the help of "high-level political consultant" Joel Searby, who has since been charged with soliciting a teenage boy for sex.
"Their whole campaign started with a lie," he said.
In the event the appeal is dismissed or denied, district attorney David Delaney said staff is currently working on a contract that would allow Alachua County Public Schools to sponsor the charter school.
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Wednesday's meeting also provided a platform for teachers to express their unease regarding the district's protocols for interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released in February.
Nancy Dean, a veteran educator with 36 years of experience in Alachua County, shared her worries regarding the protocol.
"Schools have always been safe places in which students could freely learn and be part of the community,' she said. 'When did teachers become wardens of the law? Our job is to teach and protect students, not to endanger them."
Teacher Nickole Dean talked about the potential impact on student trust and holding the board accountable regarding teachers' salary increase.
"We may be middle of the bar in the state of Florida, but in the community, we feel dead last,' she said. 'Teachers are posting in Facebook groups asking what jobs are out there because they're tired of feeling so insignificant. Not only are we feeling insignificant, we're feeling forced to hand over children."
— Local News Editor Alan Festo contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County School Board to appeal Newberry charter conversion
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