Sarasota's school board voted 5-0 Friday in favor of the superintendent's plan to fill district schools with low enrollment and prevent charter schools from moving in, even as some concerns remain about the true costs of the endeavour.
The plan includes demolishing two school buildings and expanding some elementary schools to eighth grade.
Superintendent Terry Connor told a special board meeting that when it comes to staffing and enrollment, the district could keep more students and come out ahead, money-wise.
"If we were to recapture, let's say, 90 to 100% of those that typically would have left fifth grade to go to a 6th grade charter, they stay with us; that would actually equate to more revenue than the planned expense on these instructional units," Connor said.
He also said that the idea of razing two buildings, one at Alta Vista Elementary and one at Fruitville Elementary, came only after a careful cost assessment, known as a Castaldi analysis, that is required by the state.
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"It's very, very old," said Connor of the building slated for demo at Alta Vista. "It has outlived its usefulness, and it makes more sense for us to actually demo that building than it does to invest money into repairing and renovating that building. The same goes for there is a building five at Fruitville."
School board member Tom Edwards said he voted yes because of a new Florida law that expanded the definition of Schools of Hope and now allows certain charter school operators to move into any public schools with extra space, not just those that are low performing.
Notices from six state-designated "hope operators" are expected to arrive at public schools as early as Nov. 11, stating they intend to co-locate.
Dozens of Tampa Bay area schools have already received such letters from Mater Academy, based in Miami. Those came too early and are considered invalid, but a sign of what's to come. After the next batch of notices arrives, districts have only a few weeks to respond.
"It is because of schools for hope, and it is because of this express timeline. And I'll point out to you that I would never approve this kind of conversation without a substantially more robust budget," Edwards said.
There could be many unforeseen costs, he warned.
"The staffing to enrollment is a wash, and that's wonderful, but it doesn't show expanded curriculum. It doesn't show all of the programming that has to be thought about and re-engineered, and any capital improvements that may be required at specifically Brookside," Edwards said.
Rather than keeping a neighborhood public school as it is currently, Brookside Middle will be re-imagined as a magnet academy of innovation and technology, under Connor's plan.
"It doesn't show any re-engineering of operation buildings, if in the event that we have to move The Landings (district administrative offices) in a short period of time into available seats," added Edwards. "It doesn't show any opportunity for athletics, which I think is an important component when we're looking at the K through eight."
Most speakers in the public comment period were in favor of the plan and criticized the expansion of Schools of Hope.
However, Elizabeth Hall raised concerns about the effect on neighborhoods near schools that expand.
"These proposals directly affect the neighborhoods that surround these schools. A K-8 campus means more traffic, longer congestion windows, parking overflows, increased noise and safety and risks for the residents and children who walk and bike nearby," Hall said.
"These neighborhoods were not built for middle school-level traffic patterns. These decisions have the potential to disrupt the quality of life and the surrounding neighborhoods that may even affect property values," she said.
School board member Karen Rose praised the plan and the superintendent for his focus on innovation.
K-8 schools "have been in a discussion at the district level for at least a decade, and the research supports K-8 schools being a positive for the community and for the public school system," Rose said.
