Education First for Newberry changes governing board plan

Two weeks into the 60-day window for voting on Education First for Newberry’s (EFN) charter school initiative, community members still have questions. EFN and Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) are both constantly updating their websites to address parents’ and teachers’ concerns, with EFN changing its plan for the school’s governing board to reflect feedback. 

In February, Education First for Newberry announced its intention to take a vote to transition Newberry Elementary School, Oakview Middle School and Newberry High School into public charters. It has since held three well-attended town hall meetings to answer questions. 

The 501(c)4 organization has promised that all students currently enrolled in any of those schools would be guaranteed their seats through high school graduation. Starting with the newest incoming Kindergarten class, the schools would begin capping acceptance at 100% enrollment to solve an existing overcrowding problem. 

If the school votes, set for April 5-12, approve the charter transitions, the schools would begin operating as charters in the 2025-26 school year. According to state statute, the enrollment cap would be set annually by the school’s governing board, “in conjunction with the sponsor”—unless the charter is “high-performing,” in which case the governing board may set its own capacity without the sponsor’s approval. 

Until recently, the Newberry schools’ governing board was proposed to be, at least temporarily, the Newberry City Commission. After listening to citizen feedback, EFN changed course and released a new plan for the governing board: three seats appointed by the Newberry Commission (with at least one teacher-nominated representative), one seat appointed by the Archer City Commission and one seat appointed by EFN. The city commissions may not appoint a sitting commissioner. 

Newberry would still provide “infrastructure, support, financial oversight and legal resources to ensure the new system has all it needs from teacher pay and benefits to facilities management, accounting and human resources,” according to a press release. The city would not be over curriculum, classroom management, discipline or any “education-related priorities.” 

“We [set the Newberry City Commission as the governing board] originally because we were thinking about continuity, not politics,” Joel Searby, a spokesman and board member of EFN, said in Wednesday’s town hall meeting. “That was a mistake. We should have thought about some of those politics.” 

The governing board members would have two-year terms, and would be advised by a citizen advisory board, with two seats for Archer, two for rural residents and five for Newberry residents. 

Several students from the three schools were among more than 60 citizens who attended EFN’s latest town hall meeting on Wednesday. One student from Oakview Middle School said she has never been dissatisfied with the education provided at her schools, and Searby told her that is exactly why EFN wants to keep the same administration and staff. 

“I’m really glad that you have not had that experience,” Searby said. “Because a lot of students have, and when I coach basketball and they come to me in tears about challenges they’re facing in the classroom, it’s not because they have bad teachers. It’s not because the administrators don’t care. It’s because there are a ton of pressures that are adding up to students not being able to get the education we know they deserve, and we think that we can address those problems with a smaller, local community school system.” 

EFN had originally promised teachers a 3% raise over what ACPS currently pays them. The organization has now changed its proposal to include all school staff and promises a 3.5% raise over whatever the district plans to pay next year. 

Though citizens have expressed concerns that the state will not provide enough funding for the charter schools to operate, Searby has promised there is more than enough, and that charters will also be more accepting of help from the community, where ACPS has turned it away. 

EFN has shared some budgetary information, and Searby said it plans to share more. He said the organization is aware that it cannot predict exact enrollment numbers right now, but that the schools would still be able to function without full enrollment, and the funding that comes with it.  

District spokesperson Jackie Johnson said ACPS pays $650,000 more than what the state provides each year, transporting Newberry and Archer students to Newberry schools. Though Searby has said the state requires the schools to make sure their students are able to attend, Johnson said charters have no such duty. 

“Most charter schools don’t provide transportation,” Johnson said in a phone interview. “And those that do, it tends to be very limited. So that is something that parents need to consider.” 

According to the Florida Department of Education’s website, “the charter school and the school district are required to cooperate in making arrangements so that transportation is not a barrier to equal access for all students residing within a reasonable distance of the charter school.” 

Searby has cushioned the charter school transition a few times with the assurance that Newberry is not the first to do it. He brought up Pembroke Pines Charter Schools and Oasis Charters in Cape Coral, pointing to them as examples of several levels of charter schools successfully educating a community’s children. 

One citizen commenter asked in Wednesday’s town hall how Newberry’s schools could compare to those schools in communities with different demographics and situations than the community in Newberry and Archer. 

In response to that question, and several others surrounding the finances of the schools and their accommodations for ESE (Exceptional Student Education) students, Searby said he has spoken with the CEO of a charter school system. He said the CEO’s student population is about 40% ESE students, and the school system is able to cater to their needs because it has fewer schools to keep track of, and state funding that follows the students. 

If the charter transition is successful at the Newberry schools, 5% of state funding, or 2% if the schools are high-performing, would be allocated to ACPS for up to 250 students, to cover district costs for administrative services. 

EFN’s projected operating revenue for its first year, with full enrollment, is $17,866,114, with projected expenses just under $16 million, leaving a $1.8 million surplus.