The move to have charter schools and traditional public schools share space is part of a new Florida law expanding the Schools of Hope program.
The program started in 2017 in an effort to attract more charters to open — especially near low-performing traditional public schools.
Recently, the Florida Board of Education approved rules to allow private charter schools to co-locate using "underused, vacant or surplus" space. According to the rules, it allows charter schools to "have the practical and effective use of all or part of an educational facility at no cost." In addition, if the charter school asks, the traditional public school has to provide a range of services like custodians, maintenance and food.
Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Terry Connor says he doesn't understand how charter schools co-locating inside schools could benefit his district.
"It is definitely a major concern for a school district like ours, who is a high-performing school district and provides so many educational options within the county," he said. "Sarasota County, I think, is a shining example of school choice. We have 15 approved charter schools. We have A-rated schools, district-managed, we have private school options and homeschool options — everything that I think parents would want."
Connor said Schools of Hope may serve a purpose in certain districts that may be struggling to provide "high-quality" options. He added this could be in certain ZIP codes or where there are surrounding failing schools.
"But when you're talking about a school district where 95% of the schools are [ranked] A's and B's with only two C's that are very close to being B schools, I don't see that the Hope operators are really going to provide anything more than what we're providing here as part of our educational portfolio," Connor said.
Charter school operator Mater Academy wants to move into about 90 public schools across the state. It sent letters this month notifying them of its intent. Since then, school district officials have been expressing their concerns about how it will affect traditional schools.
Sarasota was one of the districts notified. Those schools are: Brookside Middle, Emma E. Booker Elementary and Oak Park School, which teaches students with disabilities.
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In a statement sent to "The Florida Roundup," Mater Academy said its goal is to "increase access for families and bring students back into the classroom."
"For more than 25 years, Mater has been committed to expanding access to high-quality, tuition-free public education, and this pathway aligns directly with our mission and with the broader parental choice movement in Florida," the statement said in part.
On "The Florida Roundup," Superintendent Connor and Politico's Andrew Atterbury gave some more insight into these changes and how they may affect public schools.
Sarasota already has 15 charter schools. Are those Schools of Hope?
No, they are not.
Connor said these are district-approved. All of them were approved by the school board over various years.
"We feel that many of those options have provided a specific need for our community, such as dual language or college preparatory academies. So we believe that supplements in and provides variety for our families," Connor said.
He explained that public dollars are used to support those charter schools.
"If you look at basic funding as per student, the dollars will follow the students, so as families choose their educational options, the funding will follow," he added.
How do charter schools acquire property?
Connor said there are various ways. The charters may lease from a private entity, or they may build with bonds.
But currently, no charter in Sarasota is operating in district facilities. This could potentially change with the new law.
Would Schools of Hope in traditional schools improve total enrollment in the facility?
It's too early to tell.
In its statement, Mater Academy said the goal is to bring more students into the classroom.
But Superintendent Connor thinks the Schools of Hope could try to recruit students who are at those schools to come into the charter part of the school — instead of gaining more people overall.
"These are B schools. And they're very close to being A schools. So we're providing a really good option for our parents that do choose us. And I don't see that a HOPE school would be able to attract other students around the county to come to those schools," Connor said.
How much public money could be spent on supporting the co-location in Sarasota?
Connor did not give specific numbers but said it would be "hundreds of thousands of dollars on an annual basis."
He said when you look at maintenance and operations, transportation cost, food and nutrition services, it costs to educate a child.
"When you look at the Schools of Hope and the fact that they're going to co-locate on district-managed property and will be subsidized by the funding that is earmarked for district-managed schools, I don't think that's an example of school choice that we would want here in Florida."
Would public school districts have oversight over the charter schools?
When it comes to teacher qualifications, curriculum and any other oversight, Connor said no, they won't have the ability to have much say in what the charter schools do.
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He said the way it's historically been is that the superintendent approves the charter, but the day-to-day curriculum choices are all approved by the governing board of the charter school.
What options do resisting school boards have?
Atterbury said that under the rule the Florida Department of Education passed, the options are limited.
He said schools can suggest alternative spaces for the charter schools to open, but otherwise, there's only one real avenue to challenge it: Material Impracticability.
Atterbury explained this is what the state is calling it, and he isn't sure yet what this could be defined as.
"This is going to be a whole new can of worms for the state and schools to kind of deal with over the next few months, with these schools pressing them," he said.
What is the timeline for Schools of Hope changes?
According to Atterbury, schools are saying that it's not until the end of the month that they can start considering the applications/notices of intent from the charter schools.
He said he expects a lot of action from local school boards toward the end of this month and early November. Atterbury added that the number of Schools of Hope in Florida is anticipated to increase due to this new law.
"We could be talking about a major expansion, but really, not until 2027 are any of these schools expected to open. So there's quite a big runway here," Atterbury said.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Tom Hudson for "The Florida Roundup."
