School board members discuss alternative school, Newberry charter conversion

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During the Chair Report part of the March 19 Alachua County School Board meeting, Chair Diyonne McGraw addressed a recent article in the Gainesville Sun that laid out a timeline of various events that included the creation of a new alternative school by Superintendent Shane Andrew in June 2023; the school has never been discussed publicly by the school board but is listed as an active school on the Florida Department of Education website. The article insinuated that Andrew had submitted the application in exchange for McGraw’s support for his hiring as permanent Superintendent, although McGraw had campaigned on the promise of a national search.

McGraw began, “Sometimes as a leader, you have to take time out to address things… because any misinformation – as people know, marketing is key for me. If you are putting out information that’s not correct, or misinformation – because my focus is on what’s best for children – I’m going to make sure, moving forward, that information is correct.”

McGraw said an “experienced journalist would have called the district office and asked for correct information.” The article, which was published on the Friday of Spring Break, said, “Attempts to reach school district officials for comment for this story were unsuccessful.”

“It’s a way to make people look bad because we’re in an election season.”

McGraw said the article was “written in a way to take aim, of course, at myself, the Chair, Diyonne McGraw, and also our Superintendent… As Chair, I have made it clear that anybody is welcome. We may not always agree, but you’re welcome. But you must be respectful when you come in… It’s a way to make people look bad because we’re in an election season.”

McGraw then described some “significant issues” with the story, “beginning with the premise that a new school was submitted to the State without required Board approval, and the way it was written was as if Mr. Andrew and I had gotten together to create or do something under the table. Those who truly know me, they know that that’s not in my repertoire. I wouldn’t do that. And there’s no new school… As part of Operations, the Superintendent can hold on to [a Master School ID number] in case you want to use it for some other way. There was a discussion last year about the possibility of starting a new program sometime during the school year to serve elementary school students with disciplinary issues… A potential location was the former Horizon Center, which is the current location of Alachua E-School… Also, if the decision had been made to start up such a program this year, an MSID number would have been needed. MSID numbers have to be requested by June 1 for any program to start during the following school year, and the application requires a Superintendent’s signature… Again, no such school has been opened or activated.”

McGraw said the article was “dirty politics to make the Superintendent and the Chair look bad or seem incompetent – or they were in cahoots.”

“And also the attack on my beautiful, wonderful daughter, Brooksie”

McGraw was also dismayed at the “attack on my beautiful, wonderful daughter Brooksie”; the list of events described in the article included the controversy over Club GAIN at Gainesville High School, which was organized by Brooksie McGraw. The investigation into a complaint from a parent about the club found that the club did not appear to be fully compliant with district policies but that “claims regarding any form of racial bias in the selection of individuals invited to the interest meetings cannot be substantiated.”

The report also found that Brooksie McGraw’s responses to the parent “do not represent proper conduct of an employee or instructor with ACPS” and that Brooksie McGraw “failed to comply with the necessary behavior standards of an ACPS employee.” In addition, the report found that Brooksie McGraw’s delay in providing information to the parent was “not conducive to proper compliance or communication.” The report recommended “address[ing] this issue with Brooksie McGraw in the form of a commensurate corrective action.”

“Trust becomes an issue.”

McGraw wondered whether the information in the Sun article “came from – could it be some people that work in the district?… That means trust becomes an issue. Communication, misinformation, shows that we’re not willing to listen to each other.”

On the decision to hire Andrew as Superintendent: “I listened to the community, I heard the staff”

Regarding the decision to abandon the national search for a Superintendent, McGraw said, “Progress is happening in Alachua County schools. So I took the initiative to meet with the Superintendent and his staff, the leadership team, school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and families. And the majority of all of them in the schools said, ‘Hey, I want some stability.’ So, as a board member, I listened to the community, I heard the staff.”

She concluded, “You may not agree with me, but when you begin to attack people’s character and attack their families, that’s a low blow… I’m not asking for any sympathy because politics is what it is… Tonight I felt compelled to say what I said, and I’m gonna continue to serve with integrity, I’m going to continue to talk with everybody, but I’m going to be fair in my decisions that I make.”

Certain: “I am unapologetically against the… charters in Newberry.”

Member Tina Certain had earlier said she would wait until the end of the meeting to speak about the conversion charters in Newberry, but she decided to go ahead and speak after McGraw. She said, “I am unapologetically against the… charters in Newberry.” She said the Board Attorney had asked her to stay quiet, “and I told him, I’m not able to honor that request to stay quiet. I am not against the citizens of Newberry starting three new schools or one new charter, however they want to do it, but I am, with every pound that’s in my body… I’m against it… The problem that I have is they want free public assets that the citizens all over Alachua County paid for. They contributed tax dollars for that. And in getting those three buildings, they want the authority to say who can come to them, and they leave people out.” She referred to the Civil Rights movement and said, “Folks will be excluded.”

Certain also said, “There’s no due process for expulsions when students could be expelled. I don’t deny that we have some behavior challenges, but they’ve been in the school for a number of years… [I decided to run because] I want to focus on students, and I think that process of converting those schools to charter will limit the opportunities for students with severe disabilities. It will limit the opportunities for students whose parents cannot bring them to school because they put a dollar in for transportation and because I don’t think they’re gonna be able to provide transportation… And if those schools convert to charters, there won’t be equitable access. Who usually gets left out in these types of situations are marginalized people, people that live at the margins, children of color, children with disabilities, and so I’m against that.”

Certain continued, “There’s no input from the community on the curriculum,… the low socio-economic students have the potential to be left out, I feel.” She said special needs students are expensive and challenging to serve, and the district will need to serve those students if the Newberry charter schools don’t.

Certain on the alternative school: “That has to come to the board because that’s a budget decision.”

Regarding the alternative school, Certain said the article prompted her to review the history of the creation of that school, and when the idea of the school was brought up, “we were just sharing ideas. We didn’t say that was something we were going to do, that the board was going to vote on. And that has to come to the board because that’s a budget decision… I don’t deny that there are behavior issues, but I felt that the resources we have in place right now are serving those. Horizon School was not discussed as an option.”

She said Andrew filled out the form “the day after the budget was presented at a workshop, where the school was not mentioned… The school is active now… If we’re going to have a school or a different learning location that has budget implications, those are things that the board should be consulted on, and I don’t think we were, and it seems to be that there’s a lot of planning and moving forward without board alignment.”

McGraw interjected, “That’s not true.”

Certain listed the IB Primary Years school at Williams Elementary and the two year-round schools as examples of other changes that were “sprung on the board” and the community.

McGraw: Certain was wrong to post on Facebook that three other members support the charter conversion

McGraw then said Certain was wrong to post on Facebook that three members of the school board support the charter conversion in Newberry “because we hadn’t said anything… But when you speak, or you try to speak, for the rest of the board? No, no, no… For us to go on Facebook and undermine – because disinformation that gets to the newspaper, incorrect – somebody’s feeding it.” McGraw said she didn’t ask the Board Attorney to speak to Certain, but “we’ve all met to discuss about liability because we already have one complaint that’s been filed… None of us can speak for one another.”

Certain said she had already apologized to the three board members “and said that perhaps that was not the right thing to say.” McGraw said, “I accepted your apology,” and Certain said, “I’m wondering if you did, because you just brought that back up again.”

Newberry Education First responds to Certain’s comments

In a written statement sent to Alachua Chronicle, Newberry Education First (NEF) said, “Newberry Education First would like to reaffirm our commitment to special needs children and those on the margins. We believe all children deserve a safe place to learn that will accommodate their needs, educationally, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Having a secure environment that fosters children’s love of learning while accommodating the variety of learning styles and needs is the top priority for Newberry Education First.”

NEF wrote that they are “up for the challenge” of serving special needs children: “We have been in contact with several charter schools in Florida who go above and beyond what is required by the state to serve those in need. At our next public meeting on March 26th, we will have a panel discussion where parents can hear from staff members at other charter schools in the state, to hear current examples of how those children who are the most vulnerable of our population receive the services they need. “

On the issue of community input on the curriculum, NEF wrote, “We would like to make it clear this is false. Community members will have the opportunity to review the curriculum taught in these proposed public charter schools through participation in task forces, being members of the governing board, and speaking with the Superintendent and Principals of the local schools.”

On the issue of taking “free public assets,” NEF wrote, “The citizens of Newberry and Archer pay for these schools, they are not taking assets that they are not already contributing to with their local tax dollars. “

Regarding due process for students who are expelled, NEF wrote, “Charter schools are required to uphold state statutes in discipline as well as agree to the core principles of charter schools which states that ‘a quality sponsor will uphold fair treatment in disciplinary actions.’ Newberry Education First proposes that students, teachers, administrators and the governing board work together to create a discipline policy that is fair and equitable to all students while upholding the highest level of safety for all students and staff.”

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