A month ago, Florida’s school districts were hit with a major challenge: the latest version of the state’s Schools of Hope law went into effect, giving charter schools the option of moving into existing public schools free of charge.
The Miami-Dade County School Board approved a measure on Wednesday to ask the state for clarity on the law. The law allows charter schools, which are public schools operated by for-profit companies, to use “underutilized” space as their own.
“Any space that is empty right now is a space that we should be using for education, so if we can partner with charter school providers to provide a high level of education to our students, I’m all for it,” said school board member Roberto Alonso, a supporter of the “co-locating” concept.
“Sometimes, there are unintended consequences,” said school board member Joe Geller.
Geller sponsored the agenda item, H-4, at Wednesday’s board meeting. It asks the state to clarify logistical issues and to make the charter schools pay rent and pay for services if they move into existing campuses.
“Pay their fair share, there are costs associated; also, the definition of what constitutes unused space is very vague,” Geller said. “If you’ve got a cafeteria and you’ve got a gym, you can’t say, oh, we’re gonna start having classes in here from some other institution, that’s not unused space just because it’s not necessarily fully occupied all day long.”
Board member Steve Gallon agreed, pointing out that the district has always been friendly to charter schools, but co-location brings a slew of problems.
“Colocation with no cost, I think that will be a concern for citizens of Miami-Dade County,” Gallon said.
The board passed H-4, but Alonso said it’s not necessary.
“I think today is really just political theatre on having an item that is already actionable. I’ve been personally meeting with our state delegation as well as the commissioner of education and making sure that we work together with the charter providers,” Alonso said.
“Item H-4 is the bare minimum,” said one of the public speakers who testified against co-location.
The public speakers, several of whom were teachers’ union employees, were all against the co-location concept. They urged the board to stand against it, saying it’s an unfunded mandate from the state, reminded them that Miami-Dade County Public Schools already leads the nation in school choice options, and that school security could be weakened.
“When a charter operator with its own policies, staffing structures and safety procedures is placed on a traditional public school campus, the most basic question becomes unclear: who is responsible? And when responsibility is blurred, safety is compromised,” one speaker said.
Alonso told us the logistical issues can be worked out, but others on the board, including Geller and Gallon, are doubtful, especially when it comes to parking, before and after school programs, use of facilities such as athletic fields, and pickup and drop-off times.
Now that H-4 has passed, the district will do a fiscal analysis for every charter school that has applied to co-locate on an existing campus. There are dozens of them.