Under the state rule in place during the vote, a majority of classroom teachers had to vote ‘Yes’ for the conversion to proceed. A majority was defined as “more than half.”

In printed materials and in several public presentations, the organizers stated that 50% +1, or 23 of the teachers at Newberry Elementary had to approve the conversion for the vote to succeed. Only 22 teachers voted ‘yes’, which means the vote failed.

In August 2024, the Florida Department of Education amended the state rule, requiring only 50% of classroom teachers to approve the conversion rather than a majority (“more than half”). The district and many community members assert that this rule change cannot be retroactively applied to the April vote.

A 501(c)(3) organization called Newberry Community School (NCS), Inc., established by the conversion effort organizers, submitted an application to the state’s Charter School Review Commission on November 26, 2024, requesting approval to convert Newberry Elementary into a charter school. A copy of the application was also sent to Alachua County Public Schools.

Under Florida Statute 1002.3301, the district has 30 days to provide input on the NCS application. This means that input on the 307-page application was submitted before December 26, 2024.

The Commission has tasked the Florida Charter Institute (FCI) with reviewing and analyzing charter applications, including any district response. By law, FCI must recommend approval or denial 30 days before the Commission’s next meeting. The Newberry Elementary conversion is expected to be addressed at meeting in late February of 2025, although the actual date of the next meeting is not yet posted on the Commission’s website.

The outcome depends on the Commission’s decision:

• If denied: The process stops.
• If approved: The district must provide an initial proposed charter contract to NCS within 30 days. This contract will outline the roles and responsibilities of each party and must be approved by the School Board.

That is a decision the Board will make at the appropriate time.

The district, parents, and community members have raised several concerns, many of which were shared with the organizers before the vote but remain unresolved. Among them are the following:

• Attendance: Questions remain about who will be allowed to attend, particularly after the school’s first year of operation. Concerns include whether there will be adequate space, personnel, and funding to accommodate the projected increase in students over the first five years.
• Special Needs Students: The budget does not seem to allocate sufficient funding for services required by ESE students, such as special needs buses, bus attendants, teachers, aides, and special service providers.
• Transportation: Concerns include how far students will need to walk to bus stops, whether there will be enough buses and drivers to handle breakdowns and absences, and why there is no budget for bus attendants for special needs students. Additionally, questions remain about who will perform monthly bus inspections and how they will be funded.
• School Meals: Uncertainty exists regarding school meals, as the budget lacks funding for food service staff. There are questions about how the school will replace federally funded kitchen equipment, which must be removed if the school converts to a charter. There are also concerns about how NCS plans to implement and fund the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), which currently provides free meals to all students.