JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Legislation moving in the State Capitol has parent and teachers’ groups concerned about the potential for charter schools to gain new advantages over traditional public schools.
The bill deals with school districts’ ability to purchase and sell property and who gets to decide when a traditional public school is converted into a charter school.
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Under current law, parents along with school principals, teachers and the district school board all have the ability to weigh in on whether to convert a traditional public school into a charter school.
But State Representative Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) believes parents should be the sole deciders.
“All this bill says is parents should matter more than anyone else in directing the education of their children,” said Andrade during the bill’s first committee stop Tuesday.
His bill would allow a majority of parents at a school to call a vote for charter conversion.
At least 50 percent of parents with children in school would have to participate in the vote and a majority of those who participate would have to vote in favor of the conversion to make it happen.
But Andrew Spar with the Florida Education Association argued the legislation disenfranchises key stakeholders, especially teachers.
“I think it’s really important that all stakeholders are involved. At the end of the day we know that the education of children works best when it’s the teachers, staff and administrators working with parents for the best interest of students,” said Spar.
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The bill creates an additional option as well, allowing for municipalities to petition for charter conversion when a school fails to attain an “A” grade for five straight years.
“Overstepping the role of the school board doesn’t make sense to me,” said Duval Parent Katie Hathaway.
Hathaway fears by putting the decision in the hands of people who don’t generally deal with education issues, traditional public schools could begin to evaporate.
“We see lots of political games with city council and so this an easy way for them to line the pockets of their corporate donors,” said Hathaway.
Related: Duval charter schools fall behind traditional public schools in new graduation rate report
The second portion of the bill dealing with district properties has elicited similar concerns surrounding the potential for charter school expansion.
At a time when school districts like Duval are seeing enrollment drop, Andrade argued districts are hoarding properties they may never need or use.
“School districts where school districts with a declining population, who have no need for surplus property, are holding onto property because they’re afraid of more competition,” said Andrade.
His bill does two things to districts that experience a decline in enrollment over a five-year period.
One, the districts would be forced to sell off lands designated by the Florida Department of Education as surplus, and two, those districts would be put on a purchasing freeze, preventing them from acquiring any new properties.
“We saw the community here rally to save our neighborhood public schools last year and we need that same energy right now,” said Hathaway.
Related: Duval County School Board votes to consolidate elementary schools, delays consolidation of others
Hathaway argued the purchasing restrictions and sale requirements would give charter schools a leg up.
“It’s tying the hands of local school districts from building new public schools, especially in areas that need them and it’s ripe for charter schools to come in and build,” said Hathaway.
Spar added while a district’s enrollment may be declining overall, a particular part of a district may be experiencing rapid growth at the same time that warrants purchasing lands for a new school.
“If you start saying, well you can’t do that and you grow in that area, what are you going to do for those students? Put them on buses for 30 or 40 minutes to school?” said Spar.
Related: DCPS meets to discuss overcrowding at local middle schools
It’s an argument Andrade seemed receptive to when similar concerns were raised in the bill’s first committee stop.
“You squeeze a balloon and it grows in one area even if the air is leaving the balloon entirely, maybe there’s an opportunity. I’m happy to work with you on it,” said Andrade.
The bill passed its first committee stop in the House on Tuesday.
It has two more stops in that chamber before reaching the floor.
In the Senate, a similar bill has not yet received its first hearing.
Read: ‘It’s heartbreaking’: Oceanway parents given unexpectedly long timeline for new school
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