ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Leaders at two Central Florida school districts said they have rejected all applications from private charter school companies to operate within public schools – for now -- as opposition to the program grows across the state.
The program, known as “Schools of Hope,” is an expansion of an idea that grew from the state’s school choice movement to offer underserved kids better educational opportunities.
A change in state law allowed Schools of Hope to access more facilities. Previously, they were restricted to the worst performing schools in the state.
As of this month, the rules allow a School of Hope to operate if an area meets one of several criteria, be it low scores in reading or math, consecutive C (or lower) grades for a school, or if a high-performing school has space and operates within five miles or in the same attendance zone of an underperforming school.
However, districts say the devil is in the details. Companies operating Schools of Hope do not have to pay rent on the classrooms they occupy. They must also be allowed to share common spaces like gymnasiums, parking lots and the cafeteria. Districts must pay for the maintenance, upkeep and support services the extra students need, including extra janitors, cafeteria workers and nurses.
There are also concerns about costs if the charter school operates on a different schedule than the public school, and the building will need to be open and staffed. Staff members work on a contract that guarantees them certain working hours and days off.
One district official called it “double dipping,” since the private companies will already get the tax dollars that follow a student but won’t need to pay any of the support costs of educating them.
“Really, what this is doing is not giving families more choices, it’s actually draining their public school and their neighborhood school funds and giving it to these private operators,” Orange County school board member Stephanie Vanos said.
The rejections in Orange and Seminole counties were for different reasons, primarily because the requests came from companies that were not approved providers, the schools requested did not have the available space or the buildings were slated to be demolished.
Last month, Orange County approved one School of Hope from the KIPP Network that will draw students from the Parramore area. However, KIPP plans to use an empty building instead of comingling with an existing school.
The messiness and pushback against the law has already caused one lawmaker to file a bill repealing the schools’ ability to cohabitate.
It also has even the strongest school choice proponents asking the state to go back to the drawing board.
“It just is very concerning what we’re seeing as the logistics on the ground,” OCPS board member and Moms for Liberty ally Alicia Farrant said.
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