The school administration recommends to the board that it deny the application from Academies of America.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published November 13, 2003
BROOKSVILLE - Following the lead of neighboring districts, the Hernando County school administration is recommending that the board reject charter applications from Ormond Beach-based Academies of America.
The same firm had tried to win approval to open charter schools in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties this fall. It withdrew in Pinellas and Pasco, where criticism of the proposals was harsh, and was rejected by the Hillsborough School Board.
Hernando officials have said the proposed elementary and middle schools that Academies of America wants to open offer nothing innovative or new for students. They also have raised concerns that the group has no ties to the area and questioned its finances.
"Their application had some deficits that have not all been adequately addressed," said curriculum specialist Mary Krabel, who serves as the district's charter school coordinator.
Representatives for Academies of America did not return calls to their offices. In the past, they have said they likely would appeal to the State Board of Education if the local board denies their request.
Board members, though hesitant to commit their votes in advance of Tuesday's meeting, said they leaned toward doing as their staff suggested. Past arguments from Academies of America that the charter schools could ease crowding in existing schools fell flat.
So, too, did the company's protestations, both in letters and during a recent workshop, that the charter schools would use computers and teach foreign languages in ways not seen in other Hernando schools.
Perhaps most troubling, though, was that the firm and its sister organization, Academies of Excellence, had peppered 10 counties with 19 applications in an effort to gain a foothold. Currently, the groups have no open charter schools.
"I'm not sure that this company went about it the right way," board member Robert Wiggins said.
Wiggins, an ardent charter school proponent, noted that not all charters are created equal. Gulf Coast Academy of Science and Technology, which opened in August, fit the county, he said, while this application does not feel the same.
"They're just not doing anything special or anything unique; they're just doing stuff that's already there," he said. "And I don't see the public support there."
Board chairman John Druzbick had reservations as well.
He noted that Academies of America had not yet answered the myriad questions that board members raised during a workshop last week. Among other things, the board requested testimonials or proof that a Volusia County schools program the group runs has been as successful as the applicants claimed.
"I am not confident with this one yet," Druzbick said. "Until all the information is presented to me . . . I am not confident or convinced it will work."
Board vice chairwoman Sandra Nicholson consistently has held the most skeptical view of the application. She sent several pages of questions to Academies of America and said she would need to see "really good answers" and plenty of community support to consider backing the charters.
"It seems to me their reason for (applying) was questionable," Nicholson said.
After learning that no other counties have approved the group, she added, "I don't think we should be the first."
Charter schools set their own curricula, discipline codes and other rules and do not have to follow all of the state education regulations. They are public schools, and the students must meet state education requirements, including passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
