Charter school claims space in Manatee, Sarasota county schools

A charter school operator based in Hialeah Gardens has filed requests with Sarasota County Schools to occupy space on three public school campuses in connection with the Florida’s Schools of Hope provisions.

According to a statement from superintendent Terry Connor, Mater Academy requested this week to co-locate operations at Emma Booker Elementary, Brookside Middle and Oak Park School campuses.

“We have significant concerns about the impact these proposals would have on students, staff and programs currently in place at these schools,’’ Connor said. “These are established district-operated campuses that serve important roles in their communities.’’

On its website, Mater Academy claims it “is an approved authorizer for Schools of Hope. This program is designed to promote and open high-quality schools in Federally Designated Opportunity Zones - or within a 5-mile radius of an Underperforming School - as indicated by the State of Florida.’’

Dozens of requests for space in schools around the state have been received in recent days. In Manatee, two requests were received last week. Brevard County, on the coast east of Orlando, received 27. Hillsborough County received 28.

Booker has been a B-graded school the last two years, Brookside scored a B and an A, and Oak Park serves children with disabilities. None would qualify as an “underperforming” school, so Mater Academy appears to be relying on a new provision of Schools of Hope, yet to take effect, that allows sanctioned charters to occupy space in under-capacity schools as well.

Sarasota County Schools said on Thursday that because the new provisions are not yet in effect, the applications are invalid because charters are barred from seeking space until 14 days after the in-effect date. The rule changes are set to take effect on Oct. 28.

State data show declining enrollment at each of the three mentioned schools.

Emma Booker stands at 58% capacity, Brookside stands at around 43% capacity, according to district figures.

According to Oak Park's website, the school has under 250 students.

Schools of Hope, and its potential effect on under-capacity Sarasota schools, came into sharp focus in September when School Board discussion focused on a broad plan to potentially close under-capacity Wilkinson Elementary and shift students to three under-capacity campuses nearby. By next year, students could be dispersed to Alta Vista, Brentwood and Gulf Gate elementaries in surrounding neighborhoods.

With a capacity of 786 children, Wilkinson operates at about 50%. The three surrounding schools are at about 60% capacity.

As part of that discussion, Connor said the effects of charter schools co-locating on public school campuses could be far-reaching.

“If we have a school that is under 50%, half the school is empty,’’ Connor said. “We have maybe a wing or several classrooms that are not currently being utilized because enrollment has declined over the years. That provides an opportunity for a School of Hope operator to essentially make an intent to say ‘we want to designate that space for our school.’ And if they do that, the kicker is we also have to not only provide the space but we also have to provide the transportation for the students, the food service, the custodial, the security support, the shared spaces — the cafeteria, the gym — all of that comes at no cost to the operator.”

Wilkinson parents are fighting against the closure, proposing alternatives to keep open the STEM-certified school.

Connor said the district intends to fight the proposal from Mater Academy to begin operating in the 2027-28 school year.

“The primary avenue available to the district is to submit formal objections based on material impracticability, as provided in statute,’’ he said. “The district intends to exercise this right within the required timelines.”

A notice sent to school families by the School District of Manatee County alerted them to a similar request from Mater Academy to take space at a middle school in Palmetto and a repurposed middle school building in western Bradenton.

"Over my dead body are they going to take that building,'' Manatee School Board member Heather Felton said of the Sara Scott Harllee Center in Bradenton.

Like their counterparts in Sarasota, Manatee school officials noted they consider the Mater Academy requests invalid because they arrived before the state law takes effect. 

Mater Academy proposes to serve nearly 1,700 student within five years on the two Manatee campuses, according to documents provided by the school district and signed by Mater Academy President Roberto C. Blanch. "These businesses are not in it for the children,'' Felton said. 

Sarasota County Schools received nearly identical notifications, seeking facility space for about 1,800 students. 

In all five cases, the letters seek floor plans and access for in-person facilities inspections. 

"We will continue to do our due diligence to be ready to respond to any letter,'' said Manatee Superintendent Laurie Breslin. "What I don't want is for schools that have been named to lose focus on providing the great instruction every day in the classrooms."