The Newberry City Commission voted unanimously on Monday to approve a request for a letter of intent to loan $2 million to Newberry Community School, Inc., for planning and startup costs if the Florida Charter School Review Board approves an application to convert Newberry Elementary School into a charter school.
“We as a board are asking you to make this commitment to building a strong, sustainable educational institution for our community,” Derek Danne, chairman of the new charter school board, told the commission. “With this funding commitment, the city of Newberry will be a key partner in supporting our shared vision of high-quality, accessible education for all children in our community.”
Though the city is calling the commitment a loan, Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe said in the worst case the city’s financial support can be used as a backstop and paid back on schedule, and in the best case scenario the charter school is able to pay it back early, or even use less of the loan than is offered.
The city had already lent $120,000 to the effort to cover legal fees for the application, before the conversion charter had incorporated, which the charter school organization’s chairman said is calculated into Monday’s loan amount.
At the time of the first financial commitment, City Manager Mike New had estimated that the charter conversion initiative would need at least another $100,000 loan from the city to cover startup.
On Sept. 25, “Newberry Community School, Inc.” submitted its articles of incorporation, and is now a nonprofit organization, with Leslie McGehee, Leslie Hayes-Morrison, Derek Danne and Veronica Kadala listed as board members.
While Newberry Community School is asking for the city’s financial backing, Danne said his hope is that the organization will be able to exhaust other funding sources first and use minimal funding from the city. The letter of intent which the city approved on Monday also includes a clause placing early repayment to the city as a priority if funds allow.
Danne said the organization will have its application to the state by Nov. 26, and the charter review commission should release a ruling on the application by February. If all goes to plan, the school would open its doors as a charter in August of 2026.
Danne also said the charter conversion team, partnered with the city’s financial experts, has balanced a budget that includes an increase in teacher pay and benefits, the implementation of STEAM curriculum that places more emphasis on real-world applications than standardized testing, improved student services, transportation for all students, and an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) preschool program.
New said the budget will not have excess, but staff believes it is doable.
Marlowe said he expects the school to receive funding from multiple sources once it is up and running, including Title I funding, which Newberry Elementary currently receives.
“At this point it seems like everybody can come together now and say this is a good thing,” Marlowe said. “This is a really positive thing for our community. It’s positive for our students, it’s positive for our teachers.”
The letter is a non-binding letter of intent, not a formal loan agreement, but the city plans to execute such a formal loan agreement following state approval of the charter conversion.
With a 1% interest rate, the loan’s principal amount would come to a total of $2,201,000, or $1.8 million with $400,000 in capitalized interest. The charter school would be scheduled to begin repayment on Jan. 1, 2030
The Newberry City Commission chambers was packed with citizens for the meeting, many just there to hear the proceedings, but several also to comment. Three spoke against the conversion, while five thanked the commission for its involvement. They said the School Board of Alachua County is unresponsive, and expressed hope that a community charter school could make a difference.
“This initiative that originally started by parents is about giving our school a chance to rise above the persistent negligence of the county board of education and finally prioritize all the needs of all students, including those special needs,” said Jessica Carey, a Newberry parent of a kindergartener.
Detractors said the process has not involved Newberry citizens enough, and that if the whole community is going to financially back the conversion the whole community should get to vote on it.
Newberry resident Brandy Oldman, who has been a vocal opponent of the conversion since its start, also noted that the letter of intent incorrectly lists “Newberry Community School Board” as the loan recipient. Oldman, who is the registered agent, incorporator and member of the board of an organization by that name, requested that the city correct its name usage in future documents.
After a motion from Commissioner Tony Mazon and a second from Commissioner Tim Marden, the commission unanimously approved the letter of intent.
“If you trust nothing else, at least trust that I want nothing but the best for Newberry children,” Mazon said. “That includes my child as well. Newberry has an opportunity to create something unique and groundbreaking, and I hope that you all can see the vision.”