Earlier this month, every school board member in Hillsborough County and Superintendent Van Ayres traveled to meet with lawmakers in Tallahassee about their concerns, said Nadia Combs, who represents District 1.
They split up and talked to various legislators about the state's boost in funding for private schools and homeschoolers, as well as the expansion of Schools of Hope, which she said raised questions about safety, oversight, accountability, and funding.
"From what I understand, it's going to move forward no matter what. That's the impression I received,” said Combs.
Hillsborough County received notice last month from Mater Academy, a School of Hope operator in Miami, that it intends to move into 28 schools in the state’s third largest school district.
Those letters arrived too early, and are considered invalid. But more are expected in the coming days, as a new state law allows certain charter school chains — some of which are run by for-profit companies — to set up inside public schools that have low enrollment, without paying rent, utilities or other shared services.
“I think the taxpayers should be outraged about it, regardless if they're a Republican or Democrat,” added Combs. “I think they should be outraged that somebody is going to come and co-locate in their school, and then we'd have to pay for their food, their transportation, their safety, to electricity. I mean, that makes absolutely no sense to me.”
Many of the letters from Mater Academy, a tuition-free charter run by the for-profit company Academica, went to schools in Hillsborough County where children with special needs learn, she added.
"That's a big concern. They targeted every single exceptional center that we have. And then also some of our new schools,” Combs said.
"So, we are asking to make sure that the services, the cost of transportation, food, electricity should be shared. I don't know why the burden would be on one organization, not another."
Mater Academy did not respond to a request for comment.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has brushed off criticism of Schools of Hope.
"Being able to provide operators like that some existing infrastructure that’s not being utilized makes economic sense, but it also helps attract folks to come in and do it," he said in October.
Schools of Hope was established in 2017 as a way to boost student performance in impoverished areas or in low-performing schools. It was expanded by legislators this year to include any public school with extra space, regardless of performance.
A district spokeswoman said Hillsborough County Public Schools “remains the top choice for families across our community,” and said there would be no impact to local schools “until the 2027-2028 school year at the earliest.”
