School Board Reverses Decision To Reject Charter School Contracts

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — With $950 million in state funding on the line if the Hillsborough County School Board doesn't abide by an order issued by Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, the school board voted 6-1 Tuesday morning to reverse its previous vote and reinstate the contracts for four charter schools.

The vote came after Corcoran blasted the school board for what he said was a violation of state statutes when it voted not to renew the charter schools' contacts at its June 15 meeting.

In a scathing letter to the school district, Corcoran gave the school board until July 26 to rescind that vote.

Putting even more pressure on the school board to reverse its decision, all four of the rejected charter schools have threatened to sue the school district if their contracts aren't renewed.

The school board's reversal came after listening to 45 minutes of comments from parents, teachers and school administrators on both sides of the issue.

Nicole Stevens, who's been teaching three years at one of the school's targeted for closure, Woodmont Charter School, said many of the parents of students at the school placed them there because their neighborhood schools were failing.

She noted that Hillsborough County has 39 public schools that have received failing grades from the state. However, Woodmont Charter School, which has 90 percent minority students, has been rated a B school since 2018 and is the highest-rated charter school in Temple Terrace.

"I cannot fathom a politically run school board that denies the need of a high-risk minority population for their own political agenda," Stevens said. "Give parents the right to choose what's best for their child."

School board chairwoman Lynn Gray said Corcoran's order forced the school board's back against the wall. The threat of losing state funding combined with the legal fees required to defend the school board's decision in court would cripple the school system.

If the state withholds the district's $950,000 in funding, the school district wouldn't be able to meet its payroll or pay its bills, agreed school board attorney Jim Porter.

Additionally, under the financial plan the state approved for the cash-strapped school district in May, if the school district's balance falls below 2 percent, the state has threatened to come in and take over the school system.

In essence, said school board chairwoman Lynn Gray, "we've been charged with a crime so legal has advised us to reinstate the charter schools."

"We've never been in this situation before where the state board of education said we're not following the law," said Jim Porter. "To be clear, the state alleges you violated the law, but that doesn't mean that you did. Our firm position is that you didn't. You acted in good faith."

"The concerns I'm hearing are valid concerns," said school board member Melissa Snively, referring to the Florida Department of Education's efforts to strong-arm the school district to comply with its demands for the third time this year.

The first time was when the school board wanted to delay the start of the 2020 school year due to the coronavirus pandemic and Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the district to reopen schools in August or lose state funding.

The second time occurred in April when the school district was ordered to remedy its $10 million budget deficit or the state would place the school district in receivership and take it over.

"I would like more local control but we took an oath to follow the law," said Snively.

At its June 15 meeting, the school board voted to rescinded its permission for Charter School in Temple Terrace and Kids Community College Charter High School, Pivot Charter School and Southshore Charter Academy, all located in Riverview, to continue operating as charter schools in Hillsborough County.

The four schools are among 55 charter schools in the county.

Charter schools are privately owned and managed nonprofit schools intended to give parents an alternative to public schools, especially in areas where the public schools are failing.

Under the state legislation for public charter schools first adopted in 1996, charter schools operate under a performance contract, or charter, which frees them from many regulations created for traditional public schools but still holds them accountable for academic and financial results.

Most charters are granted for five years and the schools are funded by the state. Students attend them free of charge.

However, the same legislation that allowed charter schools to operate in the state also gave the school board the authority to oversee and monitor them to insure they meet the standards spelled out by the state.

Gray said the school board's decision to deny the charter school applications wasn't capricious.

"There was real data in front of us to justify our decision," Gray said.

She said Woodmont Charter School had 13 violations, Kids Community College Charter High School three violations, Southshore Charter Academy had 17 violations and Pivot Charter School four violations.

The violations included failure to follow fiscal management requirements, not meeting academic standards, not providing a qualified gifted teacher in the school, failing to offer an adequate exceptional student education program and not following the individual educational plans established for every special education student.

But in his order to the school district, Corcoran said the four charter schools targeted by the school district for closure serve a high percentage of minority students, had passing B and C grades from the state and the school board had not provided valid legal reasons to deny their charters.

"As I'm sure you are aware, the students attending these schools come from economically disadvantaged homes, ranging anywhere from 100 percent to 33 percent of the student population," Corcoran wrote in a letter to the school board.

School board member Stacy Hahn, a former special education teacher and a former board member of Pepin Academies charter schools, said she's a proponent of school choice as both an educator and a parent.

She said the board's decision not to renew the charter schools' contracts wasn't because the school board is opposed to charter schools or covet the $250 million in funding the state gives to charter schools in the county.

"It was because they were not providing ESE services to our students," she said. "You can have acceptable school grades and still fail our most vulnerable students. We cannot turn a blind eye when the laws are being violated for these students."

Gray questioned whether the education commissioner and his board, all of whom are appointed, truly have the authority to overturn the decision of a constitutionally elected school board put in office by 250,000 voters.

Board member Jessica Vaughn said she shares those concerns.

"I'm growing more and more concerned about the state usurping our authority," she said. "The decision affecting local students should be made by local elected officials. This is the third time in one year that the state has threatened to withhold funds. It impacts over 200,000 students when the Department of Education doesn't like our decision."

The board conceded to Corcoran's demand but only if the school district puts together an action plan for each of the charter schools to make sure they're held financially accountable, providing the needed services for special education students and hiring and retaining qualified gifted teachers.

"I was elected to provide oversight. These schools are going to have to be held accountable," said school board member Nadia Combs.

If the schools fail to live up to these action plans, Porter said there is nothing preventing the school board from intervening and revoking their charters again.

See related stories:

• State To School Board: Renew Charter Schools Or Lose Funding
• Fix $100M Hole Or Hillsborough Schools Will Be Taken Over: State
• Parents Demand Hillsborough Schools Head Resign Over 1K Job Cuts