The School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) met on Tuesday, with the conversation centered on the potential next steps to prevent Newberry Elementary School (NES) from converting to a charter school. 

The NES charter conversion was among the two items on the agenda. 

Vice Chair Tina Certain requested that the charter be put on the workshop agenda. 

“I asked that we have this [added] so that we could have a discussion as a group, because we really haven’t had that chance to do that in this type of setting,” she said. 

The workshop focused on the SBAC’s next move after the board’s appeal to keep NES from converting to a charter school – Newberry Community School – was denied during a Charter School Appeal Commission (CSAC) hearing in August. 

According to a social media post by Newberry Mayor Tim Marden, the hearing was held Aug. 25 in Tallahassee, with the school board having brought 10 appeals before the CSAC. 

“The basis of the SBAC’s appeals were to contest the February Charter [School] Review Commission’s unanimous vote in favor of the Newberry charter conversion,” Marden wrote in the Aug. 28 post. “All 10 appeals were denied.” 

In an email reply to Mainstreet, Jackie Johnson, spokesperson for Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), said the hearing lasted roughly four hours, with commission members listening to arguments from both parties and asking their own questions. 

Ultimately, she said the CSAC voted to recommend that the State Board of Education approve the conversion charter school application. 

During the workshop, Board Attorney David Delaney noted it would be “premature” for the board to plan what steps it wants to take until the state board has made its final decision. 

The State Board of Education is expected to consider the CSAC’s recommendation at its next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Fort Walton Beach. The meeting, which is slated for 9 a.m., will be held at Northwest Florida State College (1170 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Bldg. 8).  

“Talking broadly, there are not any more administrative appeals after the State Board of Education,” Delaney said. “Instead, any possible legal action at that point would involve litigation.” 

ACPS interim Superintendent Kamela Patton then posed a question to Delaney regarding legal options.  

“So, Mr. Delaney, what I think I’m hearing you say is that there is no more regular appeal? The only other thing they [the school board] can do is literally sue the state?” interim Superintendent Kamela Patton asked. 

Delaney said yes. 

Board Chair Sarah Rockwell, who, along with board member Thomas Vu, attended the workshop remotely, asked Delaney for clarification on what the lawsuit would look like if the state board were to approve the conversion charter school application. 

“What would we be asserting in a lawsuit?” Rockwell asked. “Or are there multiple options for what that lawsuit could look like?” 

Delaney said there are a few options, but added he would “hesitate” to dig too deep into legal strategy during a public meeting and before the state board’s final decision. 

“There are always considerations about federal law versus state law, and venue, state court versus federal court, and so forth,” he said.  

Certain said earlier in the workshop that she has “really strong feelings” about NES staying under the district’s control. 

“I’m a fighter,” she said. “That [NES] is an asset, and it provides schooling in a rural area.” 

Certain added that she sees multiple things happening with the charter school conversion, one being that citizens in the unincorporated area of Newberry will have to pay twice the amount in school taxes.  

“The reason I say that the citizens…will pay school taxes twice is because they’re not going to have to cover any finances and in-kind services to the school via taxes and fees that are only paid by citizens in the unincorporated area,” she said. “They will also have to pay the required local effort (RLE) and the school taxes, because that’s how we get funded in the district. And that charter [school], even though it’s a conversion charter, is still participating in the Florida Education Finance Program. They will get their money based on enrollment, the way all schools are.” 

Vu echoed Certain’s comments. 

“I feel very similar to Mrs. Certain about being a fighter, especially about a public asset that’s been taken away from the community in a way, and that is now not going to serve students, as was promised to the community when this vote happened,” he said. 

NCS is scheduled to open in fall of 2026.  

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.