Board Denies 2 Charter School Applications

As supporters of two proposed charter schools head back to the drawing board, Pasco County School District officials plan to give the application process a closer look.

The school board denied charter school applications for The Center for Independence Inc. in New Port Richey and Freedom Academy Elementary in Zephyrhills during its Nov. 1 meeting. Both applications, district officials said, failed to meet state requirements.

The Center for Independence’s School Plan Gets Shackled

The Center for Independence had planned to open a school to serve people ages 18 to 24 with intellectual disabilities. The facility would have offered alternative diplomas and another educational track for career-based skills.

The center has been serving intellectually disabled residents of Pasco County since 1964. It currently offers a variety of services, including job placement, said Emile Laurino, chief executive officer.

“This year alone we have placed nine individuals in jobs,” Laurino told board members.  “The main focus of our school will be to get the individuals ready for life outside of school.”

The school would have served as an enhancement of programs already in place.

Some of the issues presented in regard to the nonprofit’s application were a failure to follow the state’s model during the application process; problems with the curriculum plan; concerns about student performance, assessment and evaluation; and more.

 “We’re duty bound by statute to look at technical issues,” said Dennis Alfonso, the school board’s attorney.

Even though board members were “duty bound” to follow the state’s statutes, they expressed disdain about the need to deny the application.

“I see people that are friends of mine that I would dearly love to have a charter school,” said board member Allen Altman. “It is extremely difficult to sit here and feel constrained by state statutes and mandates.”

Board member Cynthia Armstrong agreed.

“(I) want to encourage you not to give up on this,” she said. “Please, please keep working on this. This is the type of charter school I like to see. This is meeting the needs of the community.”

Altman pointed out that even if the board approved the application, the state would likely remove funding for the charter school based upon a failure to meet legal requirements.

“If you want to see trauma to students and you want to see drama,” Altman said to look at what happens when charter schools are closed. “Closing one … is probably one of the worst things I have sat through.”

In the end, the board voted unanimously to deny the application.

“It is with heavy heart that we approve this recommendation,” said Joanne Hurley, school board chairwoman.

Laurino said he would have to go back to his board of directors to determine if a new application would be submitted prior to this year’s August deadline.

Freedom Academy

Similar issues were also presented in relation to Freedom Academy Elementary School’s application. That application was also unanimously denied, but Mark Jordan, chairman of Freedom Schools LLC. , said he hoped to have a new application ready for next year.

“We appreciate the help we have been given,” Jordan told board members. “We’ve learned a lot through this process. We understand our application is deficient is several areas. We hope to be back next year with a perfect application.”

Changes on the Horizon?

While there is nothing that can be done to salvage the two charter schools’ applications for this year, board members want to look into ways to provide more support to applicants in the future.

Altman recommended a workshop process where issues could be addressed more closely prior to final decisions being made. He also suggested an earlier start for applications for those who have been previously denied.

“You could do an early submission to allow staff to sit down with them,” he said.

While no decisions were made at Tuesday’s meeting, board members asked staff to come back with recommendations on how to ensure that charter school applicants in the future have more guidance about the process, the requirements and state statutes that apply.