Florida school districts are lining up to sue the state over a wide-ranging new education law. That hasn’t stopped them from applying for millions of dollars in grant funding from a program it creates.
The Schools of Hope program offers grants to proven charter school operators that want to open in high-needs areas. It also offers grants to up to 25 district schools that want to offer wraparound services and and extend their days to turn around their struggling academics.
A total of 50 schools have applied. The Sun-Sentinel reports applicants include schools in three South Florida districts that have already voted to support the still-nebulous lawsuit.
“I’m glad that they’re seeing the opportunity to take advantage of the policy that’s going to allow them to bring in more resources to those schools that need turn around,” said state Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, one of the key architects of controversial bill.
Palm Beach School Superintendent Robert Avossa said it was the Legislature’s decision to cram so much policy in one bill that has led them to sue over one part of the bill while accepting another.
“Superintendents across Florida have accurately described [the bill] as a whole lot of vinegar and a little bit of honey. The taxpayers of Florida need to know that buried in this bill are millions of dollars for the most challenging schools that will support their students and teachers,” he said.
“We have just as much of an obligation to compete for these funds for our students as we do to oppose the aspects of the bill that we believe were written to provide corporate welfare to charter schools, by buying for-profit corporations properties and buildings with taxpayer dollars,” he added.
Schools in Bay and St. Lucie Counties have also applied. Their districts were among the first to join the effort to sue.
And Gradebook notes Hillsborough, Polk and Pinellas Counties have also applied. Those districts are still deciding whether the join the lawsuit. The Polk school board is set to discuss the issue tomorrow.
This is the surest sign yet that if the lawsuit does materialize, it’s not likely to take aim at the entire law. An early-stage legal memo drafted for the Broward school board suggested that might be a possibility. But now, it appears districts are preparing to attack specific provisions intended to help charter schools.
The state Board of Education is expected to hear the competing proposals at its September meeting. The effects of law’s sweeping changes to Florida’s school turnaround process, hinted at during the board’s last meeting, will become more clear.
