Glory Reitz
School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) Chair Diyonne McGraw spent about 15 minutes during Tuesday night’s regular meeting rebutting a recent news report that Superintendent Shane Andrew had asked the state to approve a new school.
McGraw said the article, which ran in the Gainesville Sun, was an attack on herself and Andrew, and that it contained false information.
The article published on March 15 with the headline, “School superintendent, without board approval, asks state for new school.” The article has since been updated, and a new headline reads, “School District proposed creating an alternative disciplinary school. How did that happen?”
“The way it was written, it was as if Mr. Andrew and I had gotten together to create or do something under the table,” McGraw said in the meeting. “Those who truly know me, they know that that’s not in my repertoire. I wouldn’t do that.”
The story also tied the potential new school to a range of school district controversies dating back to 2021, including the superintendent search and McGraw’s removal from office over a residency issue.
According to district spokeswoman Jackie Johnson, on June 1, 2023, Andrew’s staff submitted an application to the state based on a discussion the school board had had during the spring semester. The application was for a Florida Department of Education (FDOE) Master School ID (MSID) number for a grades 1-5 school called Scholars for Success.
Though the SBAC had not asked to create any new school or program requiring an MSID, Johnson said it had discussed the possibility of opening a program for elementary school students with disciplinary issues, including those currently enrolled in the Sidney Lanier Center’s Character Counts program.
McGraw made student behavior a top issue of her 2022 campaign for school board and has continued to emphasize it as a member.
The board’s 2023 discussion had pointed to the possibility of moving to open the school during the 2023-24 school year, so staff submitted the application in time for the annual June 1 deadline.
The state uses information from an MSID file for direct communication with the schools and for reporting school data. There is no negative consequence for having an MSID without using it, Johnson said, but if the district had missed the application deadline, it would have closed the board’s option to open a school or program this year.
If the district were to open a new school, or reopen an old one, that decision would have to come before the school board, but it would only be possible if the school has an active MSID number.
FDOE approved the application, so Scholars for Success is now listed on the FDOE MSID list as active, but Johnson said that is common practice to give the district flexibility. ACPS has three years to use the MSID for a school, or the number will be deactivated.
At Tuesday’s meeting, McGraw said the Sun’s original article contained multiple inaccuracies, including assertions that the school would open this year, that it was for high school students and that it would be a charter school.
“There is no new school,” Johnson said in a Wednesday phone interview.
At the meeting McGraw read from a statement that Johnson sent to the Sun requesting corrections. The Sun later corrected the story to identify Scholars for Success as an elementary school and remove a charter school reference.
McGraw wondered aloud who had given the Sun the information, noting that the reporter did not speak to her or Johnson. She said if it was a district employee, that was a bad sign.
“If we begin to undermine the work of the district, that means trust becomes an issue,” McGraw said. “Communication, misinformation… shows that we’re not willing to listen to one another.”
You dare speak of trust??? A person that accepted payment from the taxpayers, parents,and students of Alachua County, while being in office illegally. When proof is shown you paid your ill-gotten wages, then you can speak You have set an unbelievable lower bar for the ACSB
Read 102.0168 florida statute and you will find out they lied on Mrs. McGraw
But keep talking and time will tell.
Reading info or the lack of seems to be a problem that causes unnecessary dissension.
If only there was a manual that stated how MSIDs work…
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7574/urlt/0101172-msid.pdf
The time frames for submission of a MSID application are:
• DJJ, adult, hospital/homebound and virtual facilities may submit MSID number applications
to the department throughout the calendar year.
• All other applications shall be submitted to the department no later than June 1, and no
earlier than three calendar years prior to the beginning of the school year that the school is
scheduled to open.
• An inactive MSID number shall be considered void if the school does not open within three
calendar years of the issuance of a MSID number.
• Only active school numbers will be accepted for student and staff database reporting.
• Records with inactive school numbers will be rejected.
• The request for a new school number requires the approval of the district superintendent.
• The department shall notify the district superintendent in writing of the approval or denial
of an application.
• The department shall assign a MSID number when a district demonstrates that the
proposed school is fully functioning and operating as a district entity, and that assignment
of a MSID number will not undermine school accountability.
And if one follows the link to Scholars for Success, one can see the listing that reflects the school is “active” as of 8/10/2023 – despite the open to be listed as “future school – currently inactive.” The deadline for a filing for a new ID – or to activate a previously applied for inactive MSID for a future school is 6/1 of each year. Mr. Andrew could have filed for a future school… and yet… without the authorization of the school board that a new school was approved, filed for a number *and* designated it as opening on 8/10/2023 instead of flagging it as inactive to potentially open later.
The school board allows him to do many things that require their approval… without their approval (and given comments in their meeting, often without their awareness).