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By SARAH SCHWEITZER
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 21, 2001
TAMPA -- The School Board approved without discussion Tuesday the creation of two charter schools that will be operated by a private company based in Coconut Grove.
The approval comes as private companies across the country increasingly seek to operate charter schools, which are publicly funded but free from many government rules. The companies typically supply services such as teaching, maintenance and bookkeeping by using money the school receives from the state based on student population.
In an earlier proposal to the district, Chancellor Academies, which operates six other charter schools in South Florida, requested permission to open two schools for mainstream students. Superintendent Earl Lennard worried that the two schools would not provide anything innovative or new, something charter schools are supposed to do by state law.
The company subsequently revised its proposal so that the schools would each serve about 600 at-risk students.
The school district also approved a plan that will shorten the length of summer school. Last summer, elementary and middle school students attended 14 days of summer school while high school students attended 23. This year, elementary and middle school students will attend 10 days of summer school and high school students will attend 19 days.
The cutback is a result of a slash in state funding for summer school and a decision by the district to funnel the limited funds into enrichment programs during the school year.
School Board member Candy Olson was concerned about the shortening of summer school, particularly for elementary and middle school students.
"I'm going to support this, but there has to be a better way than giving kids 10 days of summer school," she said.
Also Tuesday, the board approved Leto High School's request for the addition of a seventh class period to its day. The additional time will be used for academic, technical, elective and/or remedial courses.
Daniel Bonilla, the principal of Leto, said, "We had a lot of buy-in from teachers, parents and students. We think this will give us a chance to think outside the box."