This is a good thing in my opinion as the state appears to be firmly controlled by those who support charter schools above public education. The state has overturned many local decisions about opening or closing charter schools.
Seminole County has also gone to court in an effort to keep a charter school from opening, one that does not meet their standards. Hope they succeed as Miami-Dade did.
Appeals court says Miami-Dade school district right to shut down charterAn appeals court on Thursday struck down a decision by the state Board of Education that had given a troubled Florida City charter school the power to open its doors again after being shut down by the Miami-Dade School District.
In 2010, Miami-Dade school officials closed the Rise Academy after finding a litany of problems at the charter school: unsanitary bathrooms and food storage, a shortage of textbooks, and questionable spending by administrators. The school had no science, social studies, art or writing programs, no student computers, no library — and recess was held on an asphalt parking lot, Miami-Dade officials found.
“The school was a dump,” school district lawyer Mindy McNichols told state officials at a 2010 hearing. “They refused to follow any of the requirements.”
The charter school’s lawyers appealed to the state Board of Education, which reversed the Miami-Dade district’s decision — and a recommendation of the state Charter School Appeals Commission — in a 4-3 vote and restored Rise’s charter. Despite the lifeline, the school never re-opened.
Florida most definitely needs more oversight and regulation of charter schools. The public schools are being defunded in proportion to the number of charter schools getting taxpayer money.
What really surprises me is that there has been almost no coverage by the media of a recent half a million dollar fiasco in Lee County, Florida involving two charter high schools. In fact one of the county school leaders say they may THINK about more observation of such schools based on the event there. Not a for sure thing...just a "maybe". How did we get to the point in this country, in this state of not even being alarmed when two schools can get half a million from the state public coffers based on incorrect information. 465 students claimed and paid for by one of those schools while there is proof for only 13 students.
That is not a mistake. That must be called something else entirely.
Two FL charter schools owe half a million to Lee county. Gave wrong number of students.An audit of Coronado High School found there was no documentation to show 465 students participated in an on-the-job course. In a letter from Coronado Principal Arthur Nauss to the Florida auditor general, the school could provide documentation of 13 students in the course.
..."The district’s preliminary estimates show North Nicholas owes $204,236 and Coronado owes $267,543, based on per-student funding from 2011, said Lee County schools Budget Director Ami Desamours.
Yet the state keeps overturning counties when they say no to charter schools. Maybe more school districts will fight back in court.
Maybe Arne Duncan will speak out and ease some of the tensions, but I surely don't hear him yet.
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