Charter schools for Newberry? School district spells out some of the details

The city of Newberry has proposed converting its three public schools to public charter schools by 2026.

Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) released an FAQ about this for teachers, students and parents. Here’s what the district says may happen during the conversion from public to charter schools:

Earlier coverage: Initiative to convert Newberry public schools into charters backed by elected officials

“There is no doubt that it will be different,” said Jackie Johnson, ACPS spokesperson. “Just how different, it's hard to know at this point, because there are a lot of unknowns, and even after the vote there will still be a lot of unknown… The folks organizing this have said that there are a lot of things that they can't guarantee and can't answer right now, because they have to be planned and worked out between now and when the schools would reopen as charters, if that step is approved... after the initial information was shared on their website about who would be going to the school, that information changed.”

What will happen to the schools?

According to the FAQ , the Newberry City Commission will serve as a temporary board for the first three to five years. It would hire a superintendent/CEO and then decide who will oversee the schools permanently.

Instruction: The new operators would have to provide substitute teachers and long-term substitutes for the schools.

Technology: The FAQ says the charter schools would likely keep existing technology items such as computers and projectors, but charter operators would be responsible for maintaining and replacing them. Charter schools would no longer have access to the district’s network (internet, Wi-Fi, etc.)

Facilities and maintenance: Under state law, ACPS says conversion charter schools do not receive any facilities funding from property taxes. Most facilities funding for Florida schools comes from local property taxes.

It’s currently unclear whether the conversion charter schools would be eligible to receive any revenue from the half-cent sales tax for schools started in 2018, which provides additional funding for facilities. The new $7 million classroom building at Oak View Middle School in Newberry was funded through tax revenue.

The district would still own the school buildings and would be required to maintain existing facilities, but would not have to fund any upgrades, renovations or new construction unless required by law. The 1.5 millage rate revenue from property taxes, which makes up most of the facilities funding, would not be available to the charter schools because they would not be charged rent or fees for the existing facilities, Johnson said.

The 14 portables at Newberry Elementary School may also be removed, as the district may not be required to continue leasing them. Charter operators would be responsible for providing any new space for students.

Any changes such as renovations and additions would have to be approved by the school district, since the buildings would still be district property.

How would this affect students and parents?

Students have the right to attend public schools by law, but this is not required for charter schools and the district says there is no guarantee that a charter will enroll or continue to serve any student.

The operators plan to limit who can attend over time to students living in a certain zone, the FAQ says. In the future, younger children who don’t currently attend the charters will no longer be automatically admitted to the school even if they live in an area currently zoned to the schools. They would only have the option to apply if there is enough room or through specialized magnet programs.

Johnson said there’s currently no way of knowing who will and won’t be able to attend the charters with new zone lines and transportation, which could be a “significant limitation” for students who may want to stay in their community’s schools.

The FAQ says there is no guarantee that all households or future households currently in a Newberry school zone will be able to send their children to the charters. It’s also unknown if people who move to the city will be able to.

Transportation: ACPS is required to provide transportation to all students living more than two miles from their zoned school and many special needs students regardless of how far away they live. They also provide transportation to students attending magnet programs. This means if a child did not want to or could not attend the charter, the district would have to find a way to transport them to another school if they are further than two miles away.

State law limits how far students at district schools are required to walk to their bus stops, but there is no limit for charter schools. Students attending their zoned schools walk, on average, slightly over a quarter of a mile to their bus stops, the FAQ says.

The FAQ says the state covers about one-third of what it costs to transport students but the rest —–which is about $650,000 each year in additional transportation funds just for students attending schools in Newberry — is provided by the district. If charter operators choose to provide transportation, they would only receive what the state gives them for funding and no additional district funds, which ACPS says may limit the transportation they can provide.

Charter schools are not required to provide transportation for any student and can stop offering transportation if they choose.

Mental health, family services: ACPS provides mental health services to students and families, which they say many Newberry families use. Students and families at charter schools would no longer be eligible for those services, such as free therapy sessions.

Charter schools must apply to the state to receive any state mental health funds, and the funds granted must cover the cost of mental health services currently provided by the district, such as the salary and benefits of a social worker.

Sports: All coaches, assistant coaches and athletic directors in middle and high schools receive supplements funded by the district. That would not continue unless the charters pick up the cost. This includes covering costs for upgrades to athletic facilities.

The district also provides certified athletic trainers and additional funds to help pay for uniforms, equipment and other items. This funding would not be provided to charter schools. Additionally, ACPS pays for game officials and funds the middle school sports program. It is currently unknown if a charter middle school could compete in that program.

Home Campus, a digital system that keeps track of eligibility, physical exam forms and other athletic paperwork, is funded by the district and would no longer be available at Newberry High.

Extras: Charter operators would be responsible for costs of extra-curricular activities, school resource officers — part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safe Schools Act — and extra costs of Newberry High’s career-tech programs not covered by standard funding.

What about students with special needs?

The FAQ says charter schools are not required to serve all special-needs students. If they believe they can’t properly meet a child’s needs, they can choose not to enroll them. The district serves all special-needs students and must provide all supports required by a child’s individualized education plan (IEP) and 504 plan.

The district funds multiple services for special-needs students, including occupational therapists, physical therapists and classroom paraprofessionals, among others, which charter operators would have to pay for without the use of federal funds to replace what ACPS currently provides.

The charter also would have to cover costs for adaptive equipment or assistive technology as well as ESE classroom teachers (they cost more than what the state provides).

The district must provide transportation and accommodations (such as an aide or lift) for students whose IEPs require it, but charters are not required to provide transportation. ESE public school students receive door-to-door transportation services.

The FAQ says ACPS has had “charter schools that accepted students but did not provide the services as required by their IEP or 504 plan.”

What will be the effects on current district employees?

Charter school employees are not eligible for membership in the county’s union, Alachua County Education Association (ACEA) , and would not be covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) either. This means salary schedules, working conditions, employment protections and other CBA benefits would not apply to charter employees.

The new operators would determine if any accrued sick or annual leave from ACPS employees is accepted, so the district said it is possible that employees who go to work for the charter school may lose some or all accrued leave. Additionally, under the CBA, an employee leaving ACPS would not be paid out for accrued leave by the district.

Benefits, salary and workday details would be determined by charter operators. The initiative's website says projected budgets would allow for an immediate 3% pay increase.

If an employee is on a Professional Services Contract with ACPS, it would no longer be in effect or apply to charter school employees, as it is part of the CBA, the FAQ says.

Charter schools are not required to participate in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) and if they chose to keep employees on FRS the operators would have to cover the costs, including increases.

The FAQ says FRS benefits are costly and the amount that employers must pay to cover employees under FRS increases regularly — it has increased almost 28% in the past two years. The Newberry Education First website says teachers paying into the teacher retirement system will keep those benefits and continue to receive them through the charter school.

Employees also would not receive the district's automatic step increases in their salaries, which happens at the beginning of each year. The district has opportunities for teachers to earn extra money through options like sponsoring clubs or summer school, which may not be available at a charter.

“The Newberry Education First group did put out a proposed salary schedule for 25-26 for teachers,” Johnson said. “It compared the salaries for 2025-26 to teachers’ current salary schedule, which is somewhat misleading since we have to go through two more negotiation cycles before we have a 2025-26 salary schedule.”

Where would ACPS employees be placed?

Under the CBA , existing teachers and staff who don’t want to work at the charters have placement priority over new hires, meaning they will be placed in other district schools. Teachers and staff who choose to stay with the charter school and separate from the district must reapply and go through the normal hiring process if they later wish to return to ACPS.

What about the vote?

Under state law, only classroom teachers can vote , and they must be employed at the school for more than half of each school day. Other employees such as educational support professionals, administrators and instructional staff who don’t meet that requirement may not vote — unless they have a child enrolled in one of the schools, in which case they can vote as a parent.

Parents of a child currently enrolled in any of the three Newberry schools proposed to convert may also vote , but they only get one vote per household, Johnson said. If you will have a child attending the school in the future, but don't have one in attendance when the vote takes place, then you are not eligible to vote.

“This affects a lot more people than those who are allowed to vote under state law, but most people don't get a vote,” Johnson said. “Even those who do vote, for example, parents, well, it's not all parents. It's one vote per household… Anybody whose kid would be entering kindergarten the first year this goes into effect, they don't get a vote. Anyone who has kids younger than that, or anybody who has kids in the future, they don't get a vote.”

She said the district was surprised and did not know anything about the proposed conversion until the day the information was released. ACPS has been in touch with districts that have conversion charter schools, such as Lake County, for more information and feedback.

“The focus has been trying to provide as much information as possible,” said Johnson. “This is going to be a big change, and it's going to affect a lot of people, and they deserve to have as much accurate information as we can all provide. We're not telling anybody to vote no or vote yes. Our goal is to get them the information they need and to let them know in those situations where the information just isn't available, or isn't available yet.”

Earlier coverage From public to charter school? Newberry mayor answers questions, addresses concerns

She also said that despite a school board member mentioning the possibility of voting down the conversion, the chances of that would be slim and there would need to be good reason within state law to do so.

Additional information can be found on ACPS’ Charter School FAQ page at https://www.sbac.edu/charterconversion . Proponents of the plan also have a website: https://www.yesnewberry.org/

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Charter schools for Newberry? School district spells out some of the details