Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/88739
Sarasota News Leader October 19, 2012 Julie Rohr Academy — a currently active pri- vate school with a 38-year history in Sarasota — some board members expressed concern. While endorsing the charter school plans, board members Carol Todd and Shirley Brown wondered about a possible trend: more pri- vate schools converting to the charter format. While all of the School Board members praise the county's best charter schools, some have voiced concern about the potential for a dou- bling of the number of students enrolled in charter schools over the next few years and the need to maintain high educational stan- dards in those schools. "We don't do our stu- dents a service by of- fering them a choice between this fatty hamburger versus that fatty hamburger," Todd said. "Not all charter schools are equal." Page 33 And even the Sarasota County School Board does not divide up all that local pool of money on a per-student basis. "Capital dollars [money for maintenance and construction] have always been done differ- ently," said Superintendent Lori White. "You don't have the same needs at each school." White and the board had discussed that issue during a workshop prior to the board meeting. White's position is that the money needs to be allocated on an as-needed basis. Being a charter school gives us the opportunity to expose more children to the arts and affords more students in the community a chance to participate in the arts in a small school setting. Sarasota Academy of the Arts In a related matter, state officials are consid- ering requiring districts to provide even more funding to charter schools. Currently charter schools receive a share of the state funds that come to each district, based on enrollment, but they are not guaranteed a percentage of the local ad valorem tax revenue districts re- ceive. The state may require in the future that districts share the local tax revenue as well, school officials say. Sarasota County already does this, but most counties in Florida do not. Cecilia BlankenshipPrincipal "But the money isn't following the student," board member Frank Kovach said. "The charter schools are not getting a share of the construction and maintenance money on a per-student ba- sis. From a taxpayer's standpoint the char- ter schools are a very good investment of taxpayer dollars." Art Hardy, general counsel to the School Board, explained that the allocation of the capital tax receipts was "up to the board. You can look at each school individually or not share those dollars [with the charter schools] at all," he said. White advised the School Board members to "let this year's plan continue unchanged. No action is required, so wait …." — meaning wait to see what action the Legislature takes in 2013 regarding charter school funding.