EDUCATION
Troubled Florida City charter school gets second chance
The state Board of Education overturned the Miami-Dade School Board's closing of a controversial charter school. The case could set a precedent for future school closings.
BY KATHLEEN MCGRORY
KMCGRORY@MIAMIHERALD.COM
A controversial charter school that was closed by the Miami-Dade School Board for questionable spending practices and unsanitary conditions has been given a second chance.
In an unusual move, the state Board of Education on Tuesday overturned the closing of Rise Academy in Florida City with a 4-3 vote, saying the school hadn't been given enough of a chance to defend itself. The case could set a new precedent for how school districts close charter schools, which are privately run but publicly funded.
Under state law, local school boards can grant charters -- and terminate them when a charter school is not performing or fulfilling its contract. But the state Board of Education, an appointed body, can override any action. The state board's vote this week on Rise could be a determent to local school districts trying to close what they consider failing schools.
Charter school operators often say school districts are not supportive of their schools.
The state Board of Education, however, is generally perceived as pro-charter. All seven members of the board were appointed by a Republican governor, and Florida Republicans have championed charter schools. Their argument: School choice promotes competition and raises the bar across the board.
Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair -- who founded Florida's first charter school with former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush -- was on the prevailing side of this week's vote to re-open Rise Academy.
``It was not an endorsement of Rise,'' Fair said. ``It was a condemnation of the process used to arrive at the decision. . . We're saying the grounds used to dismiss Rise were not the appropriate grounds.''
But not all board members agreed Rise should be given the benefit of the doubt.
``Allowing that principal to continue that school, or any school, would be a travesty,'' board member Roberto Martinez said. ``That is a school with a horrendous record. Keeping it open is not in the best interest of children.''
This past year, Rise Academy was the only school in Miami-Dade County to improve its school grade from an F to an A. But school district officials say Rise was unsafe and unsanitary. They also say the school did not offer services for children with disabilities and spent public money in questionable ways.
Records obtained by The Miami Herald show thousands of dollars spent on clothing, restaurants and a pickup truck, and at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Moreover, according to the school district, Rise has yet to account for the more than $100,000 it had in its bank account at the beginning of the summer. Some teachers have not received their final paycheck.
Principal and founder Gemma Torcivia has said the school's spending was justified. The money spent at Disney World, for example, was for an education conference, she said. She also said she spent the last of the school's money on paying teachers as much as she could.
But those aren't the district's only reasons for wanting to close Rise.
School district records and e-mail correspondence from Rise teachers state that the school did not provide textbooks to students, and that science, social studies, physical education and the fine arts were not taught at the school. Moreover, in signed affidavits, teachers wrote that the bathrooms and classrooms were unsanitary; that children took recess in a parking lot; and that unidentified adults were allowed into the school.
``We stand firmly behind the actions that we have taken,'' said Miami-Dade Assistant Superintendent Helen Blanch. ``We are disappointed in the outcome [of the Board of Education meeting] and will investigate the options available to us moving forward.''
Fair, the chairman of the state board, said Miami-Dade district needs to make its case in a different way. ``If what the [Miami-Dade School Board] said is true, all they need to do is validate that in a process that is very clear and void of subjectivity,'' he said.
Torcivia, a Teach for America alumna, opened the school in 2008. She has said she wanted to provide quality educational options for low-income children in Florida City.
The school district voted unanimously to close the school in June -- two months before the school grades were announced.
Rise appealed the decision to the state Charter School Appeals Commission, saying it did not get a fair chance to present its case to the Miami-Dade School Board. Rise attorneys wanted more than the two minutes afforded to them at a School Board meeting to present evidence.
``You can't just throw a bunch of mud up on the wall and say it is true,'' said Glen Torcivia, an attorney representing the school and the principal's father.
After four hours of presentations, the appeals commission said the Miami-Dade School Board was in the right. But because the commission can only issue a non-binding recommendation, the final decision was left up to the state Board of Education.
The Board of Education sided with the school.
What happens next for Rise?
The Miami-Dade school system can appeal the state Board of Education action to the District Court of Appeals.
Rise Academy could potentially reopen, but the details would need to be worked out by the district and the school.
The logistics would be difficult to overcome. The school gave up its lease after the district revoked its charter in June. And even if Rise could find a new location, it would come up against a state law requiring charter schools to open on the same day as traditional schools. In Miami-Dade, school started in August.
``It would be tough to open in the middle of the year,'' Glen Torcivia said. ``But if there is any way at all that [school administrators] can do it, they will.''
The Miami-Dade school district maintains that Rise is in breach of contract for failing to provide audited financial statements and not paying teachers. The district would not have to open a school that is in breach of contract.
``Our job as a district that grants contracts to charter schools is to be responsible for the children,'' said Blanch, the assistant superintendent.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/22/v-fullstory/1837846/troubled-charter-school-in-florida.html#ixzz14EJrXA2p
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