Attorneys on behalf of the School Board of Alachua County sent a letter on Wednesday to the Florida Board of Education, appealing a decision from the Charter School Review Commission (CSRC) to allow a local group to convert Newberry Elementary School into a charter school. 

The appeal follows a saga that included parent and teacher votes last April, the city of Newberry’s support for the conversion effort, and an application to the newly created CSRC, which had never reviewed an application before. The CSRC unanimously approved the application. 

The school board’s request for appeal, sent by Terry J. Harmon, Amy D. Envall and Molly L. Shaddock of Tallahassee-based Sniffen & Spellman, P.A., lists three arguments for reconsideration of the approval. 

First, the letter states that the conversion charter school vote failed because 50% of eligible teachers voted in favor— but not over 50%, which was the ballot rule for a majority, but not the statutory definition. The Florida Board of Education has since changed the rule’s language to match the statute. 

The letter states that both the school board and the charter conversion group agreed before the vote that a majority would require “50% plus one.” 

The letter’s second argument is that there are substantive reasons for denial within the charter conversion application. Alachua County Public Schools evaluated the application the conversion group was sending to the state, and made an overall recommendation to deny, based on five sections that staff found to meet the standard, while nine only partially met the standard and eight did not meet the standard. 

The Florida Charter Institute also evaluated the application, and recommended approval to the CSRC, saying 21 sections fully met the standard, one partially met the standard and none failed to meet the standard. 

This argument in the letter also notes the city of Newberry’s heavy involvement in the conversion effort, stating that “it appears to be a de facto municipal conversion charter application, which is not permitted by law.” 

The letter states that the capacity interview for the conversion applicants seemed rushed and that the district’s concerns and input were not addressed. 

The third argument in the letter appeals to jurisdictional issues, arguing for the school district’s right to appeal the CSRC’s decision. Florida statutes and rules expressly allow for the applicant to appeal a decision, but do not mention the possibility of a sponsor school district’s right to appeal. 

“This is inherently unjust and unfair,” the letter states. “As a clear party in interest, a right to appeal is fundamental for a district/sponsor to directly challenge the decision made by the Charter School Review Commission as it ‘steps into the shoes’ of the district/sponsor in making the decision whether to approve or deny a conversion charter school.”