{"id":7044,"date":"2025-10-16T19:02:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/7044\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T19:02:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:02:12","slug":"fix-floridas-out-of-control-schools-of-hope-law-before-it-dismantles-local-schools-piece-by-piece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/7044\/","title":{"rendered":"Fix Florida\u2019s out of control \u2018Schools of Hope\u2019 law before it dismantles local schools piece by piece"},"content":{"rendered":"

As parents of students at Wilkinson Elementary, Brookside Middle, and other Sarasota County schools, we are speaking out against the so-called \u201cSchools of Hope\u201d expansion and the chaos it has unleashed in our community. The idea that a Miami-based charter chain could claim space inside our high-performing public schools \u2014 schools that have helped Sarasota earn an A rating for more than two decades \u2014 is preposterous. It tramples on parents\u2019 rights, undermines local control, and is already causing real harm to students, parents, and communities.<\/p>\n

The problem began with language quietly added to this year\u2019s state budget. The new provision allows charter \u201cHope operators\u201d to co-locate in any district that contains a state-designated \u201copportunity zone\u201d \u2014 which is every district in Florida \u2014 and to occupy any public school they deem \u201cunderutilized\u201d or \u201csuitable.\u201d That means any school with open student \u201cstations,\u201d no matter how successful, is now vulnerable to a partial takeover. That\u2019s thousands of schools across the state. It\u2019s an open invitation for politically connected charter chains to move into functioning neighborhood schools and carve out taxpayer-funded space for themselves, without local approval.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s now happening in Sarasota County, and several districts across the state. Mater Academy, a large charter network based in Miami, recently filed letters of intent to occupy portions of Brookside Middle, Emma E. Booker Elementary, and Oak Park School \u2014 to the complete shock of our entire community.<\/p>\n

Sarasota school district representatives have said the letters were premature, but the action indicates they will most likely file again. The letters show Mater most likely did little research into the schools. They even misspelled Emma E. Booker Elementary \u2014 a historic school and community pillar \u2014 as Brooker Elementary. If approved, the district would be required to provide access to classrooms, cafeterias, playgrounds, and parking lots for this outside operator with no connection to our community. This isn\u2019t partnership \u2014 it\u2019s a partial takeover of public space that could grow over time.<\/p>\n

The harm isn\u2019t theoretical. Even before any co-location has taken place, the disruption of our community is real. In an attempt to outmaneuver Hope operators, the Sarasota County School District has proposed rezoning nearly 400 neighborhood students currently attending Wilkinson Elementary. That\u2019s a tremendous amount of disruption, all because of a deeply flawed state policy that prioritizes charter intrusion over community stability.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarasota\u2019s schools are not failing. They are among the best in the state, built on decades of community investment, talented educators, and involved parents. To suggest that these schools need \u201crescuing\u201d by an out-of-town charter chain is an insult to every family, teacher and taxpayer who helped make them successful.<\/p>\n

The Legislature must fix this law during the upcoming Legislative Session. Lawmakers should repeal or amend the budget language that opened every school in the state to these forced partial takeovers, and restore local control to elected school boards. Communities \u2014 not distant entities \u2014 should decide how their public school buildings are used.<\/p>\n

We support innovation and choice when it comes from genuine community demand, not when it\u2019s imposed through backroom budget language that bypassed public debate. This new law does not create choice for parents \u2014 it strips it away.<\/p>\n

If Tallahassee truly wants to bring \u201chope\u201d to Florida students, it should start by fully funding our schools \u2014 not by turning A-rated schools into real estate opportunities for distant charter operators. The Sarasota County School Board should fight any proposal that compromises the integrity of our schools, and lawmakers must act quickly this Session to reverse this overreach before more communities are thrown into turmoil.<\/p>\n

Our message is simple: Stop the unwanted takeovers, fix the law, prioritize parents\u2019 rights, and let Sarasota \u2014 and every district in Florida \u2014 keep doing what we do best, educating our children in strong, community-led public schools that belong to us, not to private operators from hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

__________<\/p>\n

This piece was authored by a coalition of parents concerned for their children\u2019s schools: Samantha Burt, Laquichia Webb, Allie Martin, Jodanna Osceola, Nigel Osceola, Micaela Tidd, Nick Owens, Brandy Krasinski, Meredith Karp, Kelly LaJoie, and Rhiannon Kidd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As parents of students at Wilkinson Elementary, Brookside Middle, and other Sarasota County schools, we are speaking out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7533,7534,28,30,29,7535,7536,7537,7538,7539],"class_list":["post-7044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-brookside-middle","tag-emma-e-booker-elementary","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-mater-academy","tag-oak-park-school","tag-parental-choice","tag-school-choice","tag-schools-of-hope"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7044","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=7044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}