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TAMPA, Fla. – Students returned to class Thursday morning at Walton Academy for the Performing Arts \u2014 just two days after the Hillsborough County<\/a> School District ordered the charter school to close immediately.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Hillsborough County School Board member Nadia Combs called the school’s decision to defy their shutdown order “horrible”.<\/p>\n “They’re completely ignoring something that was effective immediately,” said Combs. “To see that completely disregarded is just shocking and the district is going to seek an injunction in circuit court to stop them from operating immediately.”<\/p>\n PREVIOUS: Hillsborough School Board votes to close Walton Academy due to safety, security concerns<\/a><\/p>\n Attorneys representing the Walton Academy say the district doesn’t have the authority to immediately close the school.<\/p>\n The backstory:<\/p>\n Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Van Ayres had recommended the school\u2019s closure after what he described as ongoing and unresolved security failures.<\/p>\n Safety concerns at Walton Academy were first flagged last spring, according to the district. Officials say issues have continued to mount since then, prompting Tuesday\u2019s closure order.<\/p>\n PREVIOUS: Walton Academy remains open despite Hillsborough School Board voting to close due to security concerns<\/a><\/p>\n The charter school, which serves a small student population with a focus on performing arts, has faced scrutiny in the past over management, academic performance, and safety compliance.<\/p>\n The district cited repeated safety violations that it says has created an unsafe environment for students.<\/p>\n According to a letter from the Florida Department of Education, the school failed to meet multiple state safety requirements, including:<\/p>\n A non-functioning emergency alert systemInsufficient emergency drills and staff trainingLack of designated “safe areas” in classrooms for sheltering during emergencies <\/p>\n Officials also reported that the school\u2019s front gate was repeatedly left open during school hours \u2014 and it appeared open again during portions of the day Wednesday, while FOX 13 crews were on site.<\/p>\n The other side:<\/p>\n Walton Academy\u2019s leadership strongly disputes the district\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n In a statement to FOX 13, Emily R. Rodriguez, an attorney with The Arnold Law Firm representing Walton Academy, said:<\/p>\n “Walton Academy for the Performing Arts is deeply concerned by the actions of the Hillsborough County School Board and intends to pursue all available legal recourse. Florida law allows a charter school to remain open during the pendency of this type of appeal unless and until its Sponsor obtains an injunction. All alleged safety violations of the School were cured before the School Board’s decision to terminate the School, and there is no danger to students. Accordingly, Walton Academy remains open at this time. Any attempt by the School Board to close the school before a court order has been issued is inconsistent with Florida law.”<\/p>\n Parents and grandparents dropping students off on Thursday said they\u2019re relieved the school reopened and are hopeful the situation can still be resolved.<\/p>\n “We have fall festival coming up, a skate night, Christmas festivities we promised the kids,” said Ozzie Rubin, a grandparent whose children also attended the small charter school. “If it\u2019s possible, just give us a little time.”<\/p>\n What’s next:<\/p>\n For now, Walton Academy remains open. Should the school district file an injunction, as promised, Rodriguez says the school will challenge the district in court.<\/p>\n A judge could ultimately decide whether the school must close while the legal process continues \u2014 or if it can remain open through the appeal.<\/p>\n The Source: This report is based on statements from the Hillsborough County School District, the Florida Department of Education, an interview with Hillsborough School Board member Nadia Combs, and the Walton Academy of Performing Arts’ legal counsel.<\/p>\n Hillsborough County<\/a>Education<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – Students returned to class Thursday morning at Walton Academy for the Performing Arts \u2014 just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[113,47,629,115,135,137,136,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-6558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-education","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-hillsborough","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vlcsnap-2025-10-16-09h09m55s375.jpg\")
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