Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
School District of Lee County Superintendent Dr. Carlin made clear In a letter sent to Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay that she believes the district is not in violation of an interlocal agreement as the town has alleged, through the continued closure of the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School since Hurricane Milton last year. And that the district is in no hurry to reopen it.
The letter lays the groundwork for how the school district will oppose the town council’s efforts to reopen the elementary school, by citing damage to the school from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton last year, and what Carlin argues are fiscal issues that give the right to the school district to delay the reopening of the school.
The letter was sent from Carlin to McKannay two weeks after the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council voted to initiate a mediation and conflict resolution process to force the School District of Lee County to reopen the Fort Myers Beach Council, the superintendent cited multiple court cases to bolster her position, illustrating and stressing the power of the school board to make decisions as to when, how and if to reopen the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School.
The town, growing impatient after months of inaction by the school district superintendent and school board to take any steps toward reopening the school, initiated mediation proceedings this month scheduled for Nov. 5.
The timing of the letter from Carlin two weeks after the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council’s vote and wording suggests Carlin and the school board are likely digging in for a legal battle over the fate of the school. The school board has given mixed messages, largely vague in nature, of what will happen to the school.
The letter from Carlin followed a vote by the school board earlier this month to ask the state to give permission to the school district to raze the elementary school campus. The vote followed a surprise presentation from Dr. Kenneth Savage, chief strategy officer for the school, in which he asked the board to approve sending the 141-page Castaldi report to the state.
In her letter to McKannay, Carlin said the interlocal agreement “provides that Fort Myers Beach Elementary shall be
operated ‘in a sound and fiscally responsible way.’ That condition frames every obligation under the agreement and establishes fiscal prudence as a continuing precondition to performance.
Since its execution, however, the community has endured two additional hurricanes, Helene and
Milton, renewing damage to the facility. These events have materially altered the circumstances
and assumptions that supported the 2023 interlocal agreement and have significantly diminished the feasibility of
achieving its original purpose: maintaining a safe, sustainable, and educationally viable school presence on the island.”
Carlin said the district “remains fully committed to participating in the upcoming conflict-assessment meeting in good faith” but that she does not believe the interlocal agreement between the town and school district can be “interpreted to transfer, limit, or condition the School Board’s constitutional and statutory powers.”
In the letter, Carlin states that state laws gives “school
boards the exclusive constitutional authority to operate, control, and supervise the public schools within their respective districts. Florida law further reinforces this framework by assigning to school boards the sole responsibility for the acquisition, construction, maintenance, and disposition of educational facilities.”
The Board, Carlin said, has the “sole discretion” to determine facility needs and student services at the elementary school.
“The Board remains committed to honoring the ILA (interlocal agreement) in good faith,” Carlin said. “However, it cannot
lawfully interpret or apply the agreement in any manner that would override, diminish, or infringe upon its constitutional duty to operate, control, and supervise the public schools within Lee County.”
Carlin lays the foundation for the district’s legal defense of its actions not to reopen the school by saying that “continuing large-scale reconstruction under the present conditions, without first reviewing feasibility and purpose, would be inconsistent with both the interlocal agreement’s foundational intent and the public policy requiring sound stewardship of taxpayer funds. Florida law does not compel performance that, due to materially changed conditions, would
no longer serve the agreement’s operative purpose or would result in the imprudent or inequitable
use of public resources. The District’s reassessment is thus not only reasonable but necessary to
fulfill its statutory duty and constitutional charge to protect the public interest.”
In her letter, Carlin also argues against holding the mediation session at Fort Myers Beach Town Hall. Carlin said other Lee County residents have expressed “interest and concern” about the school, who may want to attend.
Fort Myers Beach parent Monica Schmucker, who was involved for months with an ad-hoc committee of community members and school parents who were working with administrators on reopening the school, said Carlin’s decision not to meet with the Town Council and public at Fort Myers Beach Town Hall was “vey telling” about her feelings for the community.
“They think they are untouchable,” Schmucker said. “I don’t think the Superintendent has given any indication she does care. I don’t think she has any interest in the kids of Fort Myers Beach at all.”
Schmucker said she thinks the town is acting in good faith to bring forth a resolution but doesn’t expect the district to “play ball.”
Schmucker said she thinks the school district will just be attending the mediation “to check a box.”
Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay did not return a message regarding the letter in time for print.