A Miami-based charter school operator has made a formal request to co-locate rent-free on the campuses of 27 Broward schools, initiating what one state legislator described as a \u201cland grab\u201d that could hurt public schools.<\/p>\n
Roberto C. Blanch, president of Miami-based Mater Academy, sent 27 letters to Superintendent Howard Hepburn on Wednesday informing him that the charter school provider wants to open charters known as \u201cSchools of Hope\u201d on various campuses starting in August 2027.<\/p>\n
Broward isn\u2019t the only district that received letters. Sarasota and Hillsborough and several others have received similar requests by Mater, according to State Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, who fought against the state law that makes it easier for providers to share space with traditional schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a power grab, a real estate grab for charter school companies, and now this one company has submitted applications across the state,\u201d Bartleman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Thursday. \u201cYou\u2019re going to be able to co-locate your business with no expenses, and it\u2019s the children who are in the traditional public schools that are going to be impacted because they are going to be paying for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mater also wants to operate at Everglades City School in Collier County, according to a letter the provider erroneously sent to Broward. The Miami-Dade School District received an email from Mater referencing an attachment \u201cthat supposedly referred to what they were proposing,\u201d but the email didn\u2019t actually have an attachment, district spokesman Elmo Lugo told the Sun Sentinel.<\/p>\n
Bartleman said that in the past, if a charter school wanted to locate on a traditional school campus, the district could charge $600 per student for expenses. The new law only allows districts to collect some capital dollars that charter schools might receive from the state. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not enough,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Schools of Hope is a program created in 2017 to encourage charter schools to operate near low-performing district-run schools. Mater operates three such Schools of Hope in Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n
But this year, the program was dramatically expanded<\/a> to allow approved Schools of Hope providers to operate rent-free on the same campuses as district schools if there is room. Mater is one of six operators approved by the state to run Schools of Hope.<\/p>\n The law even allows charter schools to open on the campuses of certain high-performing schools that are within five miles of schools designated by the state as \u201cpersistently low-performing\u201d based on several years of poor student achievement. A School of Hope can also operate within an \u201copportunity zone,\u201d a federal distinction given to regions considered economically distressed.<\/p>\n Bartleman said the expansion onto existing school campuses wasn\u2019t even initially heard by the Florida Senate, but got added to a giant bill and approved \u201cin the dead of night\u201d on the last day of the legislative session.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m so angry about. This bill was not ready,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether Mater\u2019s request is even focused on serving students who attend low-performing schools. The company sent proposals to co-locate on three school campuses in Sarasota County, but that district doesn\u2019t have any schools on the state\u2019s \u201cpersistently low-performing\u201d list.<\/p>\n Broward has six schools on the low-performing list, far fewer than the number of Schools of Hope that Mater is seeking to operate. And only two \u2014 Walker Elementary in Fort Lauderdale and Tedder Elementary in Deerfield Beach \u2014 are part of Mater\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n The other four such schools are Robert C. Markham Elementary in Pompano Beach, Royal Palm Elementary in Lauderhill, Charles Drew Elementary in Pompano Beach and Lloyd Estates Elementary in Oakland Park. Lloyd Estates is near James Rickards Middle School, which is going through an $82 million replacement due to a 2021 roof collapse. Mater has requested to operate on Rickards\u2019 campus.<\/p>\n Some of the schools he listed in the proposal are neither low-performing nor low-enrolled. These include the district\u2019s three A-rated technical colleges, Atlantic in Coconut Creek, McFatter in Davie and Sheridan in Fort Lauderdale. Broward officials say these programs have a waiting list, so the district is looking to expand to more locations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are currently analyzing which schools might potentially qualify under the criteria,\u201d John Sullivan, chief of staff and communications for the district, told the Sun Sentinel. \u201cHowever, we already know that several schools will not be eligible, either because they do not meet one of the rule\u2019s criteria or because they lack available space, being fully utilized for special needs, alternative education, or workforce education programs.\u201d<\/p>\n Blanch\u2019s\u00a0letter to the Broward superintendent said that any district objection \u201cmust be based on material impracticability and made within the statutory timeline after receipt of this Notice. The district may propose an alternate underused\/vacant\/surplus facility; however, acceptance remains at the operator\u2019s discretion. Absent a timely objection, our selection becomes final and we will promptly execute the required Shared Facility Plan and Mutual Management Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Blanch released a statement to the Sun Sentinel after 7 p.m. Thursday saying Mater Academy\u2019s planned expansion is a way to provide more choice for families.<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to recent rule changes made by the Florida Legislature regarding the Schools of Hope Building Utilization program, Mater Academy submitted letters of interest in accordance with the updated rule,\u201d the statement said. \u201cFor more than 25 years, Mater has been committed to expanding access to high-quality, tuition-free public education, and this pathway aligns directly with our mission and with the broader parental choice movement in Florida.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal through this process is to increase access for families and bring students back into the classroom,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWe look forward to continuing to work with school districts across the state, as we have for decades, to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Sullivan told School Board members in an email Wednesday afternoon that Mater is citing a Florida Board of Education rule that has not yet been adopted.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we should anticipate receiving similar letters from Schools of Hope operators once the rule becomes effective,\u201d Sullivan wrote.<\/p>\n