Palmer Ranch charter school still in business

On the eve of a trip to Tallahassee for a state school board meeting, the Sarasota County School Board reluctantly, but unanimously, approved a 15-year extension to a Palmer Ranch charter school's certification.

Despite reservations about the finances and test scores of the Imagine School at Palmer Ranch, the school board voted 4-0 at a board meeting Tuesday (board member Dr. Carol Todd was absent) to renew the charter school’s certification for 15 years.

The school’s charter certification was set to expire June 30, which required the district to renew its charter approval. The school opened in August 2009 under a five-year charter certification; the school board began reviewing the school’s renewal application at work sessions beginning Feb. 18. The district is required by state law to give a charter school 90 days’ notice if its charter is not being renewed.

Despite the board’s unanimous approval of the charter extension, several board members expressed reservations. They cited the Imagine School’s $132,520 deficit last year, which drove it to borrow money from its parent company, Imagine Schools out of Arlington, Va., and the more than two-thirds of the school’s third-graders scoring the lowest 1 or 2 on the math FCAT.

“While I have reservations about a 15-year extension,” board member Shirley Brown said, “they are entitled to this with the understanding that we will be watching to see if steps are taken to correct the issues we brought up this morning.”

Several board members also expressed reservations about the duration of the charter extension, emphasizing they would be keeping a close watch on the school’s performance, and that its charter renewal was not a reprieve from district scrutiny.

“I have a hard time with this one,” board member Caroline Zucker said. “I'm begrudgingly going to support this.”

Also discussed at Tuesday’s meeting
• The board approved a move to advertise for changes to the rules governing public speakers at school board meetings. The more stringent regulations on public speakers would include banning the use of CDs and DVDs during testimonies given during public forums.

• The School Board praised the Legislature’s decision to strike down a proposal to move high school start times statewide to 8 a.m. Board member Caroline Zucker said it would have been a “financial mess” to start district high schools at 8 a.m. due to school transportation conflicts.

Contact David Conway at [email protected]