By Sue Legg
04/19/24: The Newberry schools ARE NOT eligible to become charters for the 2025-26 school year
As of Friday, April 19 at 4:00 p.m., the Alachua County Public Schools website indicates the votes did not pass at any of the schools and as such, Newberry Elementary School, Oak View Middle School, and Newberry High School ARE NOT eligible to become charters for the 2025-26 school year.
04/17/24: Clemons asks state leaders to intervene in Newberry charter vote
J.C. Derrick at Mainstreet Daily News reports:
State Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry, has sent a letter to Florida’s secretary of state and education commissioner asking them to intervene in the process of certifying the Newberry charter school conversion vote.
Read the full article here.
04/17/24: Newberry Charter School Conversion Initiative fails, but Newberry Elementary’s fate is not yet determined
Chandler Hawkes at WUFT reported:
After seven hours of counting ballots, the initiative that would turn Newberry Elementary School, Oak View Middle School, and Newberry High School into community-based, public charter schools failed to pass on Wednesday.
In the midst of reading off the [Newberry Elementary School] ballots, there was a mistake with one of the votes cast. A teacher submitted a parent ballot inside a teacher envelope to the teacher ballot box. [D]ue to statutes, that ballot could not be counted in the final vote tally.
[T]he decision on the elementary school vote will be appealed in the coming days.
Read the full article here.
04/02/24: With the vote commencing Friday, tensions are growing around possible Newberry charter school conversion
Chandler Hawkes at WUFT has published an article outlining the key points regarding the initiative and the contentious feelings of community members on both sides of the issue.
03/27/24: Newberry charter voting hours extended
As published by Glory Reitz in the Mainstreet Daily News, some parents complained that voting during school hours would be difficult to attend, so voting hours have been extended for three days during the voting period. Voting times and locations are as follows:
- Newberry Elementary School
– Portable 99-053 (west wide of campus, behind the cafeteria)
– April 5, 9 and 11: 7:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
– April 8, 10 and 12: 7:15 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Oak View Middle School
– Portable 3 (south of front parking lot)
– April 5, 9 and 11: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
– April 8, 10 and 12: 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Newberry High School
– Ticket booth at football field
– April 5, 9 and 11: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
– April 8, 10 and 12: 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Read the full article here.
03/22/24: A New Twist from The Gainesville Sun
On March 21, The Gainesville Sun published an article revealing a planning document that raises questions about the origins of the movement to convert the schools. Read the whole story.
03/19/24: ‘Yes Newberry’ charter school conversion plan changes
The original Yes Newberry plan to convert its three public schools to charters has been revised. The Newberry City Commission will not be the governing board for the proposed charter schools. Instead, the City Commission will appoint five members of the public to a school board. Three members will be from the city of Newberry and one from Archer. The fifth board member will represent the advocacy group “Education Next,” according to the Yes Newberry website. An advisory board will be formed, but the new school board will have the legal authority to approve or disapprove advisory board recommendations.
As of March 6, clarifications to the plan include:
Plan approval. Parents and teachers will vote in April on whether to approve the charter school proposal. Votes will be tallied separately for each school. One school could be approved as a charter and others not approved.
Enrollment. All current students at the three schools will be automatically admitted to the charter schools in 2025. If the Yes Newberry vote by parents and teachers passes, in 2026 only those students who live in the Yes Newberry proposed zone and meet the priorities will be eligible for admission. All other students will attend an Alachua County School Board (ACSB) school.
Operations. The Newberry City Commission staff will be expanded to cover the schools’ facilities, personnel, finances, and other operations. This could change if the City and the charter school board decide to outsource these services to a charter school management company. The legal issue of whether the charter schools, which will be independent of the City, may offer city benefits to a privately run charter school board needs to be clarified.
Updates and clarifications to the charter school conversion plan continue to appear on the Yes Newberry website as opposition to the plan is launched. There is a difference between what Yes Newberry proposes to do on its website, and what they are legally required to do. A legal memorandum states the following about conversion charter school(s):
Employee Benefits. Conversion charters are required to offer health benefits and participate in the Florida Retirement System. The school employees remain public employees unless they chose not to do so, but their specific benefits are implemented by the charter board, not the Alachua County School Board. 1002.33(12)(c), and (18)(a) and (d).
The Yes Newberry plan currently offers these benefits as part of the City of Newberry benefit package. Given that the City will not be the governing board, it is not clear how the Yes Newberry board will provide access to benefits. Alachua County Schools is not required to provide access or pay for these benefits to the conversion charter schools. Public school districts differ in the benefits plans they offer, and conversion charters must create and pay for their plans.
Florida public employees, including teachers and staff are hired “at will” and can be dismissed without cause. The Yes Newberry plan would allow teachers to form their own union. The Alachua County Education Association (ACE) is not required to admit them. ACE contracts with the ACSB, and its contracts are not applicable to charter schools.
Student Enrollment. Florida statutes regarding conversion charter schools enrollment allow charters to establish admission preferences for students. Specific preferences are identified in law. They include students who meet the charter school mission and purpose standards. Moreover, children can be denied admission or dismissed for not meeting charter school purposes or policies. Fl statute 1002.33.(10)(e) 5.
The charters may similarly limit the enrollment process to target only those students residing within a reasonable distance of the charter school. The Yes Newberry spokesman has indicated that children living within the city limits of Newberry and Archer would be given first preference. School zones will be established eastward and students will be admitted based on the schools’ capacities. Fl statute 1002.33.(10)(b) (c) and (d). Two schools are currently over capacity, and the Yes Newberry initiative would eliminate portable classrooms and over enrollment.
- Charters receive some state funding for transportation, but they are not required to provide transportation. The Yes Newberry charters would not receive the $650,000 funding supplement now provided by ACSB. Thus, details about transportation coverage are not included in the Yes Newberry proposal.
- Current buildings will remain the property of the ACSB. Conversion charters are not eligible for capital outlay funds for school buildings. Fl statute 1013.62 (b). Given the population growth in west Gainesville, how new construction will be legally approved and financed is yet to be determined.
Opposition groups have formed, and the City Commission of Archer has voted to oppose the Yes Newberry school conversion plan. Petitions to oppose Yes Newberry are circulating. oppose Yes Newberry are circulating.
- The No Newberry website is here. Their petition may be accessed here.
- A second petition against the conversion, started Feb. 21 on Change.org by Newberry parent Justin Raiford. The Change.org petition is here.
Note: Florida charter school laws and rules are on the Florida Department of Education website.
02/24/24: Potential Funding Losses for Conversion Charter Schools
The City of Newberry and a group called ‘Newberry Education First’ are working on a plan to convert Newberry Elementary, Oak View Middle and Newberry High School to charter schools beginning with the 2025-26 school year.
The Alachua County School district has released a statement for families about the Newberry Schools’ charter conversion costs. The district currently provides supplemental funding to Newberry schools beyond what the state provides. The loss of local funding will reduce current charter funding for special services for children, athletics, extra-curricular activities, school resource officers, and career-tech programs. The district may also not be required to continue leasing the 14 portable classrooms currently located on the Newberry Elementary School campus, which could result in their removal. In addition, the district provides two-thirds of the student transportation costs or about $650,000 in addition to the state allocation. This extra funding will be lost to charters.
By law, all students have a ‘right’ to attend an Alachua County Public School and cannot be removed without due process. They also have the right to attend the school to which they are zoned. This ‘right’ is not required for charter schools. The ‘Yes Newberry’ website has been revised to assure parents that all students currently enrolled in these schools may stay until graduation. Class size reduction will occur for one grade each year. It will begin in 2025 for kindergarten only. Families new to the schools must apply for admission.
02/23/24: Newberry proposes converting public schools to charters
A group of parents and teachers in Newberry is proposing that Newberry Elementary, Oakview Middle, and Newberry High schools be converted to charter schools.
The ‘Yes Newberry School System’ website states that the Newberry City Commission will serve as the charter school board for 3 to 5 years or until a more permanent oversight board is established. This proposal will affect all teachers, staff, parents, and students at these schools and the district at large. A FAQ has been posted here by ‘Yes Newberry.’
Alachua County Public Schools has posted its FAQ related to the proposal’s impact on teachers at the schools.
More information for parents is expected soon from county school system leaders. A series of informational meetings is planned in Newberry, and the vote to convert the schools to charters is expected to begin on April 8, 2024.
