Newberry charter school votes fail for middle and high schools; State asked to intervene in dispute affecting elementary vote

BY AMBER THIBODAUX

NEWBERRY, Fla. – The Newberry conversion charter school ballots were counted today. The middle school vote failed because teachers decisively voted against the conversion and the parents voted against it but also failed to achieve the necessary majority participating in the vote; the high school vote failed because teachers favored the conversion but the parents voted against it and also failed to achieve the necessary majority. The elementary results are pending, due to a request by Yes Newberry to review two issues that arose during the count.

The ballots were counted in front of a live audience of around 60 people at the Mentholee Norfleet Municipal Building in Newberry. Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton was chosen as the independent arbitrator, and she read the results of each ballot aloud one-by-one, while holding up each for inspection and verification.

The results are as follows:

Newberry Elementary School : FAILED to convert, but this is currently under dispute (see below)

Parent Votes Eligible: 520
Total Yes Votes: 149
Total No Votes: 125
PARENT VOTE PASSES

Teacher Votes Eligible: 44
Teacher Yes Votes: 23 (by audible count)
Teacher No Votes: 17 (by audible count)
Teacher Abstentions: 4 (counted as no)
One ballot was deemed ineligible
Final Announced Teacher vote by Barton: 22 Yes, 21 No
FINAL TEACHER VOTE UNDER REVIEW

Oak View Middle School : FAILED to convert

Parent Votes Eligible: 824
Total Yes Votes: 134
Total No Votes: 244
PARENT VOTE FAILS

Teacher Votes Eligible: 51
Teacher Yes Votes: 9
Teacher No Votes: 40
Teacher Abstentions: 2 (counted as no)
TEACHER VOTE FAILS

Newberry High School: FAILED to convert

Parent Votes Eligible: 626
Total Yes Votes: 114
Total No Votes: 149
PARENT VOTE FAILS

Teacher Votes Eligible: 29
Teacher Yes Votes: 17
Teacher No Votes: 6
Teacher Abstentions: 6 (counted as no)
TEACHER VOTE PASSES

Principals from all three Newberry schools were in attendance for the vote count, along with School Board Member Kay Abbitt, District Public Information Officer Jackie Johnson, Deputy Superintendent Cathy Atria, Alachua County Education Association President Carmen Ward, and District 22 Representative Chuck Clemons.

Parent ballot submitted in teacher envelope

There was some confusion surrounding one Newberry Elementary School (NES) teacher ballot because the teacher put a “parent” ballot in a “teacher” envelope and submitted it to the teacher ballot box. That vote could be the deciding teacher vote for NES if it were counted, but Barton ruled that the ballot was invalid; Yes Newberry has asked her to review that decision.

No precedent on the rejected ballot

During the count, Barton seemed unclear on the law regarding the rejected ballot and admitted that there is currently no set precedent in this specific situation. “What we have is the rule, and the rule speaks on some things, and it doesn’t speak on some things,” Barton said. After discussion with her Chief Deputy Supervisor Carl Delesdernier, they concluded at the time that the ballot was ineligible. However, the ballot in question is now under review.

Dispute about whether the vote requires 50% or 50%+1

According to Florida Statute 1002.33(3)(b), a school needs at least 50 percent of both the parents and teachers to vote yes to pass. It states, in part: “An application submitted proposing to convert an existing public school to a charter school shall demonstrate the support of at least 50 percent of the teachers employed at the school and 50 percent of the parents voting whose children are enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the parents eligible to vote participate in the ballot process, according to rules adopted by the State Board of Education.”

Even with the invalid ballot, the 22 “yes” votes represent 50% of the teachers, but Barton interpreted the rules as requiring 50%+1.

Clemons asks the State to intervene

Rep. Chuck Clemons sent a letter today to Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, laying out the two controversies and asking for their “immediate intervention.” His letter states, “The plain language of the law states ‘at least 50 percent of the teachers employed at the school’ and does not require a majority… While I feel strongly that the statute, as it plainly reads, is not ambiguous and thus, the effort as it relates to Newberry Elementary cannot be characterized as anything other than successful. However, your opinions and the opinions of your Legal Counsel are critical in ensuring that this election is certified properly.”

Yes Newberry’s statement

In a social media post referencing the NES vote count, Yes Newberry wrote:

“First and foremost, we want to thank the parents, teachers and community leaders who have stepped up to help make this initiative happen, and even those who opposed the initiative. Today was a special day to watch the democratic process in action.

“At the elementary school, with 23 teacher ‘yes’ votes and 17 teacher ‘no’ votes and the final count after abstentions and one disputed ballot being still being 22-21 in favor of Yes, we are not prepared to concede the final outcome of the Elementary School.

“We are evaluating the appropriate options for ensuring the election was conducted with integrity, that all teacher intentions were properly accounted for and that parents and teachers can have confidence in the final results.

“We are grateful to Supervisor Barton and her deputy Mr. Delesdernier who spoke with our team at the conclusion of the day. We requested and she approved some additional time to offer our review and interpretation of the process used to determine the final teacher vote outcome, and their willingness to hold off on issuing any final official determination until we have mutually reviewed those questions.

“With regards to the middle and high schools, we respect the democratic process and understand that the teachers and parents have spoken and will respect the results.

“We look forward to working together to advocate for all students in our great community.”

ACPS Statement

In an email sent out at 4:30 p.m. today to parents, Johnson wrote:

“To the families and staff of Newberry Elementary School, Oak View Middle School, and Newberry High School and the families at Archer Elementary school:

“As you may know, the votes cast by eligible teachers and parents on the conversion of Newberry’s public schools to charter schools were counted this morning at a public meeting overseen by Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton.

“The results of the count are as follows:

“Newberry Elementary School: did not pass

“Oak View Middle School: did not pass

“Newberry High School: did not pass

“This means that Newberry Elementary School, Oak View Middle School, and Newberry High School are not eligible to become charters for the 2025-26 school year.

“We appreciate the participation of families, staff and other citizens in this process. Another thank you to the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, Kim Barton, and her team for all of their help during the voting and counting.

“It is obvious our schools are very important to the citizens of Newberry. We will continue to focus on meeting the needs of our students in the coming year.”

History of the process

The announcement regarding the charter school proposal was made on February 19, and the requests were officially submitted soon after by Naim and Karyanna Erched at Newberry Elementary; Scott and Nicolle O’Steen at Oak View Middle; and Jason and Leslie McGehee at Newberry High.

Parents and teachers from both sides of the issue have spent the past eight weeks campaigning in preparation for today’s vote count. “Vote Yes” and “Say No” signs have dotted lawns and medians throughout Newberry, and social media has been flooded with posts and opinions from parents, teachers, students, and residents throughout the county.  School board members have also gotten involved in the campaign against the initiative, most notably District 1 Board Member Tina Certain, whose district includes all three Newberry schools. In one Facebook post, however, Certain admitted “I couldn’t identify a teacher in either school if my life depended on it.”

Mailing list raises questions

A number of Newberry parents reported that they received a mailing from Save Our Schools that was addressed to the designated parent for the vote; reports were also received from parents who received the mailing but said their addresses would not have shown up in zip code lists or voter registration lists for Newberry. Searby told us, “We have concerns about how the address data was collected, and we intend to investigate whether unethical or illegal practices were used to acquire it.”

Yes Newberry website was blocked at the high school

A teacher at Newberry High School sent Alachua Chronicle a video showing that the Yes Newberry website was blocked “due to its contents” on the school network; the Save Our Schools site loaded without any problems.

Officers of the two nonprofits: Newberry/Archer parents vs. Gainesville union organizers

The nonprofit organization behind the Yes Newberry initiative is Education First for Newberry , led by Joel Searby, Carsen Stefanelli, and Chelsea Leming, who are all residents of Archer or Newberry and parents of children in the schools in question.

A separate nonprofit sprang up to oppose Yes Newberry, registered as Save Our Schools Newberry Inc. on the Florida Division of Corporations website . The site lists the registered agents as Glen “Tyler” Foerst, Melissa Hawthorne, and Jenn Powell, and the principal address as 235 S. Main Street #206, which is also the listed address of the Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC). Powell, a full-time organizer for Communications Workers of America who ran for the Gainesville City Commission in 2017, is listed as Co-Chair on the Executive Board of the ACLC, and Hawthorne, an Alachua County Education Association member, is listed as a sitting delegate on the Executive Board. Foerst is also a labor organizer in Gainesville.

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