A final community input meeting on the proposed conversion of Newberry Elementary School, Oakview Middle School and Newberry High School to public charter schools was held in Newberry on Tuesday night, shortly after the final budget was released.
The conference featured online speakers selected by Newberry Education First. Sean Arnold is a legal expert on a team that provides legal counsel to several charter schools. Eileen Wilkins, CEO of UCP of Central Florida; It is a charter school system with a large enrollment of students in outstanding student education (ESE). Linda Bartberger, Principal, Round Lake Charter School. Tiffany Mayhew-Rego, principal of Mascot Charter School; Linda Cerby is a former professor at the University of Florida with experience as a public school educator and charter school director. Andy Binns, Palm Beach County Schools Finance Director.
Panelists spoke in favor of charter schools and why they are better than public, district-owned schools. Some pointed to the benefit of not having to pay rent because Newberry's schools are in district-owned buildings.
Education First for Newberry board member Joel Cerby's mother supported the plan as a panelist. Mr. Sarby said he did not know about the plan until his first press conference, debunking accusations about who knew about the plan before it was released to the public. He said teachers can expect autonomy as trusted experts in the classroom, involvement in decision-making processes and opportunities to innovate.
Alachua County schools spokeswoman Jackie Johnson said in an email before the meeting that the enrollment numbers at Round Lake and Mascot in Lake County do not match the district's demographics. She said new students must apply to both schools, and current students must notify their schools of their plans to return by a certain date each year. If there are a large number of applicants, a lottery system will be used.
In addition, Johnson said Round Lake used to offer transportation stipends for families ranging from $5 to $25 a day, but that has been discontinued this year. As far as she knows, the mascot students get transportation on the district's buses, but the school is charged the difference between what the district pays for transportation and what the state reimburses the district for.
After the panel discussion, four breakout tables were created, each with its own topic. Teacher Package led by Caroline Anderson. Zone led by Chelsea Lemming. It also includes input from the community, led by parent volunteers.
The community input table allows people to make suggestions about the curriculum, student code of conduct, and other matters. Anderson told The Sun in an email ahead of the meeting that no topics had been prepared for the discussion.
Thurby said Tuesday that Newbury Education First accounts for “moderate increases” in enrollment at each school to address capacity and enrollment concerns, and the more students there are, the more , pointed out that they would receive more money. The annual budget also has a designated reserve of approximately $700,000, which includes his 2% of the per-pupil amount, or Florida Education Financing Program (FEFP) funds.
The current enrollment is 2,364 students across the three schools. Newberry Education First estimates that there are 2,479 first-year students, 2,573 second-year students, and 2,622 third-year students.
Budget information
Newberry Education First announced the budget summary with a news release on March 22, despite continued requests from community members for a complete and detailed budget.
Specific numbers by school were not released until the final budget was released Tuesday. About an hour before the final community input meeting.
Asked via email why the document was released just before the meeting, Sarby said the community “will review the proposed budget over the next 16 days and ensure this plan is viable and fiscally sound.” “We believe that we can make an informed decision about whether or not to do so.” ”
He also said the City of Newberry's chief financial officer has carefully reviewed the plan and determined that it is “substantially sound” after consulting with its own independent auditors, insurance experts and government agencies. “We also provided verification by experts and third parties,” the statement said. The City of Cape Coral operates a similar, but not identical, system to the Charter Support Unit. ”
Voting begins on April 5th.
The budget includes everything currently funded for each school, including transportation, food services, athletics, curriculum, and all current staff and programs, according to the presentation.
The presentation said the budget was created and approved collaboratively by a team of experts and volunteers. The team included school finance experts, teachers, coaches, activity directors, certified public accountants (CPAs), auditors, and more. The names of those who collaborated are not listed.
This budget was modeled using the Florida Department of Education's Charter School Template Budget Tool. This helps lock in guaranteed funding and a state-provided formula customized to the county. The presentation provided all federal and state required amounts, as well as minimum and non-negotiable expense and revenue formulas, he said.
Newberry Education First also said it cross-referenced each school's current ACPS enrollment and costs to ensure all costs were accounted for.
“After careful scrutiny and analysis by our seasoned team, the proposed budget is a testament to Newberry Education First's commitment to transparency, accuracy, and the best interests of our community,” the news release states. It's dark.
“The extensive deliberations and hours of effort that went into crafting this budget confirm our unwavering commitment to ensuring that every allocation meets the educational needs of our diverse student body. ,” the presentation said.
Highlights of the budget include funding for transportation, increased support for ESE education, and increases in teacher salaries and funding in several categories, according to a news release.
Funding for schools followed the lead of students in Florida, the presentation said. The statewide average is approximately $8,050 per student.
Regardless of school type, this money is allocated based on enrollment. Each student will receive a base amount, and students with other needs will receive additional amounts, the presentation states. Additional dollars are provided per student for accommodations such as transportation, safety, and classroom supplies.
In addition, charter schools receive a pro rata share of Alachua County's $1 million tax ($1 for every $1,000 of taxable value of real property), which equates to about $752 per student, Sarby said Tuesday night. Stated. Additional federal and state funds may be awarded for Title I, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds, specialized charter school support, and other funding and support programs.
Budget estimates show that the estimated surplus will increase each year, with net revenues decreasing within three years.
Estimated revenue is further broken down into revenues: approximately $23.4 million in the first year, $24.8 million in the second year, and $25.5 million in the third year. The largest source of revenue each year is state funding, followed by additional federal and county revenues. .
The final budget provides separate numbers for each school, but the numbers will be different when broken down, Cerby said. The budget disclaimer states that some budget numbers are intentionally different to account for revenue differences and expense increases because a school-by-school budget is less efficient than repurposing all three schools. It is stated that there is.
The disclaimer states, “The three school tabs do not add up to the same summary numbers as the system-wide budget. If all three schools convert, it will impact both revenue potential and cost efficiency. This is to do so.”
Total operating costs include operational items such as academic supplies, facilities, and transportation, and are estimated to increase each year. The estimated total cost in year one is approximately $22.2 million, increasing to approximately $25 million by year three.
Total employee expenses are also projected to increase, with employee salaries starting at approximately $11.4 million in the first year and increasing to approximately $12.9 million by the third year. Masu.
There is plenty of room in the athletic budget, and that budget falls into the following categories: Athletic equipment and support. Coaching and Activity Grants. Transportation for exercise and excursions. And I play in bands at Oakview and Newbury High.
The Newberry school system will pay a 5% administrative fee for the first 250 students enrolled in each school if Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) does not become a Local Education Agency (LEA). But Sarby said he intends to do so. He said the current budget does not take into account becoming an LEA, which would require approval. In order to keep the budget modest, fees are also included.
Issues and concerns
Community members have expressed concern about the way the information is released in what appears to be a last-minute rush. The final budget was announced on the Yes Newberry Facebook page a little more than an hour before his final community input meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Thurby addressed the issue Tuesday night, saying the group needs to make sure “the last organization that will be a key part of this effort actually believes it will work.” .
Mr Surby said Newbury's CFO told Monday's Newbery committee meeting that the plan was “substantially sound”, giving him confidence to share details.
However, the final budget, which the group calls a “fully detailed budget,” does not go into line-by-line detail and remains lacking in information. District spokeswoman Jackie Johnson said there are several potential conflicts in the budget.
He said the charter budget allocates $704,580 for utilities in the first year, but the district has budgeted about $1.18 million for utilities for the three schools in the 2023-24 school year. This includes water, sewer, garbage collection, gas, and electricity. The difference leaves him with $472,000, but Johnson said his utility bills are unlikely to go down, and even if they did, it wouldn't be by much.
Additionally, as the district previously told The Sun, most charter schools, including PK Young, rely on the district to run their school lunch programs. If that's the case at Newberry, Johnson said including those numbers in the budget is misleading.
If Newberry decides to become its own food service operator, it will need to come up with even more capital, she said.
Newberry schools generated about $1.3 million in food service revenue last year, but spending on those schools was about $1.6 million. Newberry Education First estimates school lunch program revenue for the first year to be $803,520 and food costs to be $659,556, assuming the cost of food service staff is included in employees' salaries.
Johnson also said he doesn't believe other costs are accounted for in the food service budget. For example, all NES students are eligible to receive free meals, regardless of family income, as part of the district's Community Eligibility Program. This situation cannot continue because the school loses eligibility if it converts to a charter.
Thurby told The Sun in an email that food and beverage services come with costs and revenues that need to be accounted for in the budget. He said the plan maintains the employment of current food service staff and federal funds provide the majority of food service funding.
As for athletics, Newberry will allocate $181,500 each year for coaching and activities grants, the release states. The district refers to this subsidy as a subsidy because it includes additional wages for sports coaching, club sponsors, department chairs, and more. Johnson said the pay is in addition to his salary. Just last year, she said, the district paid $273,611 in grants to employees at those schools.
Additionally, conversion charter schools cannot receive facility property tax revenue. Property tax is a tax rate of 15,000 yen and accounts for the majority of facility funds in the district. Therefore, there are concerns about how to deal with the expected increase in production capacity. Schools cannot impose school impact fees or issue bonds.
A vote to convert the school to public charter status is expected to take place in April.