Archer opposes Newberry charter conversion 

The Archer City Commission unanimously approved a resolution to officially oppose Education First Newberry’s (EFN’s) effort to convert Newberry High School, Oak View Middle School and Newberry Elementary School into charter schools. 

The resolution states that Archer’s commission was not sufficiently consulted ahead of time, and names a concern that EFN could cut Archer residents and rural residents out of the schools’ zoning after the conversion. 

The resolution was added to the regular meeting’s agenda on Monday, after Save our Schools (SOS) Newberry organizer Tyler Foerst called Mayor Iris Bailey to discuss her position on the initiative. Bailey said Foerst sent over a draft of the resolution for the city’s lawyer to look over and approve. 

Bobby Mermer, a community and labor organizer, represented SOS Newberry at the meeting. He said the group is made up of Newberry schools’ parents and teachers, as well as concerned community members such as himself and Foerst, who are Gainesville residents. 

In a speech to the commission, Mermer said Education First for Newberry was trying to “buy off” Archer when it revamped its governing board plan to include a seat appointed by the Archer commission. 

The Newberry City Commission would be able to appoint three other seats, and the EFN board would appoint the last seat, which EFN spokesman Joel Searby said was the closest approximation the organization could get to represent population proportions. The previous plan had been to allow the Newberry City Commission to act as the schools’ governing board for the first several years. 

Mermer acknowledged that the schools need improvements, as could any school. But he said SOS Newberry wants to ensure that residents of Newberry, Archer, Jonesville and the surrounding rural areas can send their children to schools governed by an elected school board. 

“This initiative is bad,” parent and SOS board member Brandy Oldman told the Archer City Commission. “It’s bad for our students, it’s exclusionary.” 

Oldman said the EFN initiative has not stated what curriculum or discipline will look like, or how taxes will be affected. 

Commissioner Joan White, who made the motion to approve the resolution, said the plan could potentially take out two-thirds of Archer’s students, as the Archer city limits only cover two square miles, while many others live outside the lines. 

“The only people that are safe are the people inside of Newberry, and maybe six miles out on 241,” White said. 

Bailey, who is also a dean at Howard Bishop Middle School, acknowledged that the district’s public schools are not perfect, but said the solution is not for someone else to come in and take over an already-functioning school. She said many problems could be solved if more money went to the schools to provide what they need. 

In a phone interview, Bailey said she feels Archer is doing what is necessary for its citizens. 

“I am hoping that our citizens realize that we do support them, we hear their concerns, and we are backing them,” Bailey said. 

The resolution was added to the commission’s agenda on Monday, which one public commentor noted did not give citizens on the other side of the issue much notice to come and voice their opinions. Commissioners responded that the vote could be over by the time the commission meets again, and that everyone already knows about the issue. 

“I know—I’m almost certain,” White said. “The majority of people in Archer are against this.” 

Mermer said SOS Newberry requested last week for the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) to sit down with representatives from both SOS and EFN. 

“We do recognize that the school board can do better,” Mermer said. “We both agree on that, and we also know that the school board needs to be held to account for problems that do exist, especially at Newberry Elementary and Newberry High School.” 

Commissioner Fletcher Hope said he wants more concrete answers to the many questions the community has about EFN’s plan. Though the organization has held several town hall meetings, its spokesman has answered many questions by saying the decision cannot be made until after the vote. 

Education First Newberry, SOS Newberry and the school district all have FAQs listed on their websites. 

“When you entrust in an administrative body of education like our county administration, you don’t like what you see, you vote their happy you-know-what out,” Hope said in the meeting. “That’s the process that we use, and… we’ve been doing that for about 10 or 12 years and it’s not working like we would like to.” 

The vote on the conversion initiative is set for April 5-12.