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Board briefed on Newberry Elementary charter conversion appeal headed to State Board; legal options limited after administrative denial
Summary
District attorney told the Alachua County School Board the Charter School Appeal Committee recommended denying the district's appeal and the State Board of Education will hear the case Sept. 24; board members said they might pursue litigation if the state board rules for the charter petitioner.
Alachua County School Board members received a legal briefing on the ongoing Newberry Elementary School charter conversion and the district's appeal process, and were told the matter will be taken up by the State Board of Education.
Mister Delaney, the district attorney who briefed the board, said the Charter School Appeal Committee held a more‑than‑four‑hour hearing and recommended that the State Board of Education deny the district's appeal. "The State Board of Education is going to take up that issue" on Sept. 24 in Fort Walton Beach, Delaney said. He told the board that, if the State Board issues a final decision adverse to the district, the remaining option would be litigation.
Board members said they contend the charter conversion vote did not meet the district's required threshold. One board member said the school property is a public asset purchased with taxpayer funds and expressed concern that a municipal backstop pledged in the charter group's application — including a stated $2 million loan and a city pledge — could result in some Newberry residents paying school costs twice if the charter replaces the district school while the city continues to provide support.
Delaney summarized other issues the committee considered in the appeal, including an apparent conflict between an administrative rule and the statute governing charter conversions. He said the appeal panel spent considerable time examining whether the vote met the required threshold and that the panel acknowledged tensions between the administrative rule and the statute. The district's lawyer, Terry Harmon, told the panel the district had followed prior administrative practice in similar district votes.
Board members asked about possible legal paths if the State Board rules for the charter applicants. Delaney said there are multiple litigation avenues — questions of venue and whether to pursue federal or state court can arise — but declined to discuss specific legal strategy in the public meeting.
Several board members described their intent to contest what they called a loss of local control over a school that serves a rural community. The board ended the briefing without taking a formal action; Delaney advised the board that there are no further administrative appeals after the State Board decision.
