Since early 2023, Palm Breeze Youth Services has worked through the Alachua County Public School district’s application for a charter school, originally named the Reichert House Youth Academy School.
The School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) looked over the application on Nov. 8 in an informational workshop, and the next step would be approval by the board.
Darry Lloyd serves as president of the Palm Breeze Youth Services Board and answered questions at the workshop. He said the charter school plans to start with 30 students before expanding, with a cap at 150 students.
Lloyd said in an interview that the school reflects a change in mission. A new name for the school will reflect the change and also distance it from the recent headlines within the city of Gainesville concerning the Reichert House Youth Academy.
“The name is changing because the mission is changing,” Lloyd said. “When you look at the Reichert House programming, the mission was different. The Reichert House programming was, in the last decade, designed to support schools where this new programming that we’re doing, the charter school, that design will be to support the community.”
In May, Gainesville city manager Cynthia Curry announced that the city would shut down Reichert House funding within the budget and close the program. A state audit in 2021 highlighted five items that concerned the Reichert House. While the city also faced looming budget cuts, Curry said in May that the real driver behind the action was an inability to move past the audit findings.
The City Commission has set aside $250,000 in its budget for the type of youth services that the Reichert House provided. Curry said in October that the city plans to issue a request for proposals before the end of the year. The request for proposals would result in a top applicant who would receive the money to perform at-risk youth services.
Lloyd said that while Palm Breeze retains the naming rights around Reichert House Youth Academy, not the city, the board thought it would be better for students to move past the name. But, the school board application, submitted prior to changes with the program, retains Reichert House Youth Academy School name for now.
Lloyd said the charter school would be independent of city governance, and Palm Breeze hopes to open for the start of the 2024 school year. The school would be off SE Second Avenue at the current Reichert House building.
“The goal is to make the kids, make the boys, love learning again,” Lloyd said to the school board.
SBAC Board Member Sarah Rockwell asked how the charter would find the students. Lloyd said it would be a combination of students applying and schools referring students.
Backup documents for the meeting show the school anticipates a budget of just over $750,000 for the first year. By year six, the school projects a budget of $1.8 million.
Insofar as this is another school and is publicly funded I’d like to know if any or all of the failed reichert staff will be on staff (or not) at this new school. Also, what are the salaries being proposed for the staffers. Will these questions be answered in the near future for all of us to review/
Here is some interesting information from Sunbiz.org (official State of Florida, Division of Corporations website): Surprise! A certain Mr. Tony R. Jones was listed as the “Current Registered Agent” for Palm Breeze Youth Services as late as 2019. This “Not For Profit” has changed “Registered Agents” quite often since then, rotating the name of the “Current Registered Agent” through their list of “Directors.”
A failed city sponsored organization, now doing an end around to come after taxpayers’ money through a highly suspect Alachua County Public School (ACPS) School Board (School Board of Alachua County, SBAC).
You can decide for yourself by reviewing their annual filings here:
https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=PALMBREEZEYOUTHSERVICES%20N080000081460&aggregateId=domnp-n08000008146-76f58282-e1f8-4f01-b558-36f7be817891&searchTerm=Palm%20Breeze%20Youth%20Services&listNameOrder=PALMBREEZEYOUTHSERVICES%20N080000081460
Here is the direct link to the 2019 report for “Palm Breeze Youth Services” 2019 report listing Mr. Tony R. Jones, as the “Current Registered Agent!”
Sorry, did not notice the link for Tony Jones listed as the “Current Registered Agent” for “Palm Breeze Youth Services” did not save. Here it is:
https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/GetDocument?aggregateId=domnp-n08000008146-76f58282-e1f8-4f01-b558-36f7be817891&transactionId=n08000008146-07c1b068-e0d7-4346-9bf5-b7fdd413eb89&formatType=PDF
So Palm Breeze Youth Services” is going to change the name from “Reichet House?” This organization is selling dog whistles to the good people of Gainesville; they will deliver nothing! More smoke and mirrors deployed to distract honest people while their pockets are picked!
Any approval of this request by the ACPS SBAC must be reported to the Florida Department of Education for investigation! Follow the money trail from Palm Breeze to its “supporters!”
Nothing but a failed program that wasted millions of dollars over the years and finally shut down, has now wiggled, squirmed and made unsupported claims to resurrect itself to play the same shell game all over again. Somehow the same people will be supporting it, John what’s his name (the one that is stuck to Ex-Chief Tony Jones 24/7) and the one who was charged with a crime after the ball field incident, Caleb? The whole gang will be there to collect the funds. And there is not one piece of unbiased facts that any of it has changed one kid. Where are the proven graduates that are so successful?