An administrative law judge has granted an extension of time in a case between Newberry Community School Inc. (NCS) and the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) that stems over legal fees, according to recently filed court records. 

Attorneys on behalf of NCS filed a petition with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) on Jan. 16, seeking $91,418.26 in attorney’s fees and costs brought on by the SBAC’s failed attempt to appeal the Newberry Elementary School (NES) charter conversion.  

In February 2025, the Florida Charter School Review Commission (CSRC) unanimously approved an application submitted by NCS to convert NES into a charter school. This was after a period of controversy that included a contentious parent/teacher vote and rule changes. 

Two weeks after the CSRC’s vote, the SBAC authorized its legal counsel and superintendent to file an appeal with the Florida State Board of Education concerning the charter application.  

Attorneys from the Tallahassee-based firm Sniffen & Spellman, P.A., then sent a letter on behalf of the SBAC to the State Board of Education on March 26, 2025, appealing the CSRC’s decision to approve NCS’s charter application. 

In the eight-page letter, attorneys for Sniffen & Spellman outlined three arguments for why the State Board of Education should overrule the CSRC’s decision, citing the failure of the conversion charter vote, substantive reasons for denial of the conversion charter school application and jurisdictional issues, specifically arguing for the district’s right to appeal the CSRC’s decision.  

After being postponed in July 2025, the SBAC’s appeal was denied during a Charter School Appeal Commission (CSAC) hearing in August 2025.  

In an email reply to Mainstreet following the CSAC hearing, Jackie Johnson, a spokesperson for Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), said the hearing lasted roughly four hours, during which CSAC members listened to arguments from both parties and posed their own questions. Ultimately, she said the CSAC voted to recommend that the State Board of Education approve the conversion charter application. 

The state board voted to dismiss the appeal by the SBAC and grant the application at a meeting on Sept. 24, 2025. 

After the petition was filed on Jan. 16, court records show that Administrative Law Judge G.W. Chisenhall issued an order on Jan. 21, instructing the SBAC to respond to NCS’s request for attorney’s fees and costs within 20 days.  

During a meeting on Jan. 26, in which the Newberry Community School Board (NCSB) voted to ratify the petition of attorney’s fees and costs, Board Attorney Shawn Arnold – one of the attorneys listed in the petition – had stepped away briefly to have a conversation with Terry Harmon, who is part of the outside counsel for the SBAC. 

Arnold, who attended the meeting via Zoom, told NCSB members that the discussion was supposed to take place earlier in the day but didn’t happen. He then informed the NCSB later in the meeting that Harmon apologized for not getting anything to them yet and that they expected to get a potential offer sent on Jan. 28. 

Court records show that attorneys for both NCS and the SBAC, including Arnold and Harmon, filed a joint motion on Feb. 5 “to extend all case-related deadlines.”  

The attorneys said that since the filing of the petition on Jan. 16, NCS and the SBAC “have engaged in meaningful discussions regarding on a resolution on this matter.” 

The attorneys stated that both parties reached a tentative agreement on Jan. 30, “subject to the parties preparing and agreeing to the terms of a written settlement agreement. 

“The parties are currently in the process of preparing the settlement agreement and furthering the resolution of this matter,” the attorneys said. 

In the joint motion, the attorneys reference the Jan. 21 initial order and that the deadlines set within that order are nearing. 

“To avoid the unnecessary expenditure of the parties’ time and resources as well as judicial labor, the parties [NCS and SBAC] jointly desire to extend all current deadlines in the Initial Order by thirty days,” the attorneys said. “The extension of all deadlines in the Initial Order will afford the parties the opportunity to work through memorializing the terms of a written settlement agreement which may ultimately lead to the dismissal of this action.” 

The attorneys also said that NCS and the SBAC “submit that good cause exists to extend all case-related deadlines” and that the motion “is not for the improper purpose of delay.” 

Court records show that Chisenhall issued an order granting the joint motion and extending all deadlines set forth in the initial order by 30 days on Feb. 6. 

In his second order, Chisenhall said if NCS “has not filed a notice of voluntary dismissal” by March 10, the SBAC “shall file a written statement” by March 12, “setting forth the information required by Paragraphs 1 & 2 in the Initial Order.” 

Taking into the account the new 30-day deadline, paragraph one of the initial order states that the SBAC “shall file a written statement setting forth its defenses to the petition,” and “any defense not raised” in the school board’s “written statement shall be deemed waived.” 

Paragraph two of the initial order says that the SBAC “shall include in its written statement either a request for an evidentiary hearing or a waiver of an evidentiary hearing.” 

In his second order, Chisenhall said NCS “may request an evidentiary hearing” within 10 days of the filing of the SBAC’s written statement. 

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.