Board celebrates appeal victory

Sarasota County Schools Superintendant Lori White, at a June 19 work session, said the State Board of Education Charter Review Panel upheld the Governing Board of the Sarasota County School District’s rejection of a charter school application.

Board members responded with cheers and applause, but there will be another hearing with the Florida Department of Education July 17, for a final determination on the school’s appeal. Sarasota County Schools Director of Communications Gary Leatherman said the board is well aware of the Department of Education’s positive stance on charter schools.

Joe Savage, co-owner of Threefold Waldorf Inc., proposed Threefold Charter School last year. The school would have operated with the Waldorf theory of education, which emphasizes imagination and creativity in learning. But School Board members said the school’s proposed coursework didn’t meet state standards and criticized its reading program.

Art Hardy, attorney for Sarasota schools, represented the district during the appeal hearing.

“It’s just a step along the way,” Hardy said. He and Savage will have five minutes to present their cases at a July 17 meeting of the Department of Education. “For me (the meeting) is pointless because there is no hope.”

Savage said the board was unclear on the recommendations it made after the initial rejection and uncooperative throughout the charter application process.

“The discussions with the school board were hostile from the beginning,” he said.

But Hardy said the board was specific regarding the rejection, noting that is why it won the appeal.
“We had our act together,” White said at the work session, “and, frankly, I don’t think Mr. Savage represented himself very well (at the hearing).”

However, School Board member Carol Todd noted that being too specific about the reason for a charter school application rejection could become troublesome.

“There is a difference between having all our ducks in order and writing their application for them,” Todd said.

Savage had entertained the idea of trying to start a charter school in another district, but has no current plans to file another application.

“I don’t really see this one being overturned,” White said. “But you can never really tell.”

Rejected
The Governing Board of the Sarasota County School District rejected the charter school application of Threefold Charter School Oct. 14, 2011, issuing the following statement:

The Charter School Review Committee has significant concerns regarding the Threefold Charter School application. Areas of major concern center on the lack of a viable reading program, lack of provision for the state-required reading block, the applicant’s ability to appropriately staff the school with certified teachers, lack of a viable ESE and ESOL plan, a questionable loan program proposal from parents, lack of a facilities plan and an insufficient budget proposal.