BROOKSVILLE — The Hernando County School Board approved three charter schools in 4-1 votes May 26, with one member objecting that the state is taking control away from local districts.
Board member Susan Duval cast the lone dissent each time, contending that Tallahassee is forcing the district to approve the schools.
Two were You Thrive academies in Brooksville and Spring Hill, which the board had rejected at its previous meeting. The third, a replication charter application for Pineapple Cove Classical Academy Brooksville, was pulled from the consent agenda for discussion and also approved.
At Duval’s request, Dawn Williams, supervisor of school choice, read a long list of concerns the evaluation committee had raised about Pineapple Cove. Williams said the application had first gone to the state Board of Education, which recommended denial over the deficiencies. They were later corrected.
At the board’s May 12 meeting, board attorney Robert Myers had explained the district’s limited options. The law requires a letter stating just cause for any denial within 10 days, he said, and a dissatisfied applicant can appeal to the state Board of Education, which can overrule the local board. Because the proposal replicates a high-performing school, he said, an appeal would likely succeed.
“They could approve the application despite the fact that you denied it,” Myers said. The board would have to justify its decision, he said. “Given the way the state operates, there’s a good chance they’d overrule you.”
Duval said she objected to the state requiring the board to approve all three applications.
“The state is telling not only this district but every school district what they can and can’t do in terms of just about anything anymore,” she said. “And I think that’s wrong.”
School boards and county commissions can’t do what’s best for their own communities, she said. The state might want uniformity, “but we’re all different. Our communities are different.”
Board member Shannon Rodriguez countered that the board remains accountable and can refuse to renew a charter if a school falls short. “Is that not true?” she asked.
“Yes,” Williams said.
Rodriguez and other members, except Duval, have said they welcome the competition and parental choice charters offer, which can help public schools improve. Charters that draw students away also spare the district the tens of millions of dollars discussed for building new schools, they have said.
Rodriguez said that based on the performance of Pineapple Cove’s other schools, the new one likely will do well.
Veteran honored
Army veteran Dell O. Barnes Sr., a manager in the district’s family and community engagement department, was honored as the May veteran of the month.
Barnes joined the Army Reserve in 1982 and served in artillery. In 1997, he was recognized for his work with Joint Task Force 411 in Panama, a humanitarian and engineering mission from Jan. 18 to May 24 that built schools and medical facilities and drilled wells.
He was promoted to sergeant first class in 2000 and became a section chief in a transportation unit. As a first sergeant, he ran training operations and prepared soldiers for deployment in the early stages of the global war on terror.
After moving to Hernando County, Barnes trained soldiers in moving supplies before retiring. He now works for the school district.
“Thank you,” Barnes said with a smile, then posed for a photo with his wife, the school board and Superintendent Ray Pinder.
Delegate redux
During public comment, speakers again argued for keeping the student delegate on the dais. Rodriguez largely repeated her earlier case for removing the position.
After the meeting, Lisa Abdul-Rahim said she was proud of her daughter Jaserah’s work and bravery and that Jaserah is setting her own direction. Jaserah has changed some plans, her mother said: Rather than take a “gap year,” she will soon enroll at Florida Southern College, which her mother said offers bachelor’s degree programs in fine arts and political science.