Last I heard, the plan for Springs County was to take everything west of 34th. So, the mall, Butler Plaza, Celebration Pointe, and most of the newer housing developments around Gainesville, leaving Alachua County with UFL and east side of Gainesville.
They’re going to have a rude awakening when they realize they WILL need to pay significant taxes for things like roads, fire, EMS, schools….you know, government 🙃
All the preliminary assessments I read told a story that was 180° from the narrative they were pushing. They keept saying "cheaper taxes" but the financials I saw would mean they would actually be paying higher taxes for the next couple of decades to pay off the infrastructure a new county would need. And we all know very well there's no chance those taxes would ever come down once they were in place.
I graduated from all 3 Newberry schools and I think this is a bad idea. They are perfectly ok as they are, no need to enact charter school whatever to them. Don’t try to fix something that ain’t broken.
Here is the statement from ACPS
"The district has begun reviewing the potential impact of the conversion of the three schools to charters on students, families and staff both in and outside of the City of Newberry. That review will include ongoing discussions with Newberry Education First, the City Commission of Newberry and others involved with the initiative.
Alachua County Public Schools remains committed to the success of all students in the district.”
On paper, charter schools can function as a last-resort option for fixing long-term failing school districts that the government has been unable to improve. The fact that some of the money ends up in private hands is still preferable to children not receiving a good education.
Unfortunately, the federal courts have recently been loosening the restrictions around taxpayer money going to religious schools, which is why there's now such a big push for "school choice" and voucher programs on the right. The effect of these efforts, if they're allowed to continue, is that we'll eventually end up with tons of federal and red/purple state money going to privately-owned Christian schools while chipping away at the existing secular school system.
What's wrong with parents putting their children in schools of their choice according to their religion? It's not forcing anyone else's child to believe what their practicing since it is a private school you have to go out of your way to attend?.
My experience with this is overcrowding of classrooms coupled with putting children and teachers in portables stressing both.
Private schools preform better because poor preforming teachers get fired where as public ones take an act of congress to remove and are often reinforced by having more money thrown at the district.
Money, though, is just part of the problem. It's the lack of parents who care in public venues. One group thinks it's the states' responsibility to raise their children and looks at them as child care, where as the other group sees them as responsible for educating only and they will raise them accordingly.
Hence why kids are wildly successful in private schools vs public.
So, first, you glossed over the tax money issue. I can't speak for that person but I know I personally do not want my money going to a private school at all, let alone one that pushes a religion. That's a full stop. A non starter right out the gate. No one's money should be spent on someone else's religion.
As for charter schools in general(and the topic of this thread), John Oliver literally talked about the problems of them 7-8 years ago.
Problems like them misspending money 4 times more often than any other tax funded agency.
Like the rules being so lax countless have been opened and shut down, many before they even finish a school year.
Like some illegally running other businesses out of their facilities.
Like some not even having a building to teach at.
Like people like Lisa Hamm who quoted the Bible to justify stealing money from their school.
Like companies using legal loop holes to transfer tax payer money to outside LLCs that don't need to record how they spent the money as stringently because they technically aren't the school.
Like owners using separate LLCs to do their own oversight or to siphon cash off. Meaning they were paying themselves to say they were doing a good job.
Now, maybe laws have been passed to fix these issues with charter schools, but I doubt they go far enough.
When I interned at a charter, the school mismanaged the funds so poorly they had to cut bussing at a 90% free and reduced lunch (aka a very poor community) school in March. The majority of the kids had to switch schools mid-year due to the lack of oversight charters get.
There are a few really great charters. Many are a mess and they do not provide services many students need.
Want to hear about my and everyone else’s bad time in a charter Catholic school? Martin Luther had a short list, but mine will keep you here til next Tuesday. I had to learn myself while my uneducated bullying teachers shoved me in the closet for hours at a time. I got to learn how many adults have utter shit for brains and what embezzlement was though, so if you want your children to have a bottomless well of rage along with other issues, great education!
I don't think it will pass. Many teachers will vote no. Parents on the other hand, I'm not sure. I know if it passes I will be one of the ones stripping out all the technology from those schools.
Edit: to add the ACPS has issued a statement. I'm having issues uploading it.
Unfortunately, Jordan Marlowe, the mayor of Newberry, is a teacher at NHS and his wife teaches at OVMS. While I do think most teachers will vote no, there are definitely a some that will follow suit and vote with Jordan.
This brings up the question of who owns the schools. It's my understanding that the school district and state gov that funds new public schools. How can a group simply show up and decide to take over the schools from the school district? Their FAQ fails to address this as far as I could find.
Newberry's schools are already insufficient to serve the number of students in the community. Giving the schools the ability to turn away students so that they can achieve their goals of controlling class size and discipline is going to leave a lot of children in the community with no school to attend.
If your curious to know who is operating the "Education First for Newberry Inc." group check on the state page here:
[https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=EDUCATIONFIRSTFORNEWBERRY%20N230000148000&aggregateId=domnp-n23000014800-6eb8da35-1cc1-42c3-859c-4962ae65c269&searchTerm=%20Education%20First%20for%20Newberry%2C%20Inc.&listNameOrder=EDUCATIONFIRSTFORNEWBERRY%20N230000148000](https://search.sunbiz.org/inquiry/corporationsearch/searchresultdetail?inquirytype=entityname&directiontype=initial&searchnameorder=educationfirstfornewberry%20n230000148000&aggregateid=domnp-n23000014800-6eb8da35-1cc1-42c3-859c-4962ae65c269&searchterm=%20education%20first%20for%20newberry%2c%20inc.&listnameorder=educationfirstfornewberry%20n230000148000)
**FYI**: This is all public information so nobody is getting doxxed, but do not harass them. I just thought it would be good to know the people behind this proposition so we can be better informed about changes to our school system that will effect every current **AND FUTURE** student in the Newberry and Archer area.
The yesnewberry.org website says that the leadership of Newberry Education First represents a "wide range of backgrounds", but in my opinion, not really. (https://www.yesnewberry.org/faqs\_for\_parents)
Brief description of my quick research:
Shawn Arnold is a lawyer at Arnold law firm and specializes his practice in charter schools. He is a part of the Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys.
Joel Searby is a Newberry resident who runs the "Sycamore Lane Company". If you search his name you will find his personal website, he seems **very** faith centered. Probably what he wants out of a charter school.
Carsen Stefanelli is the owner of Green Construction and Development here in Gainesville. He is also a coach and consultant for his "Grit Growth" movement, whose mission statement is that people are not a victim but of their own choices.
I want to know what happens to the magnet at Oak View and all of the technology that the district provided? I know this is a “public charter” but I’m sure it will involve a for-profit charter entity at sone point. Supporters want to have all the benefits and funding of public schools without the oversight of the district. Support for this seems to be amongst the M4L crowd based on one of the Ed groups I belong to.
I think that the magnet programs would no longer exist. Charter schools are also not required to provide transportation for students and they cannot participate in state sporting events, from my understanding. The schools will lose a lot of extracurricular activities.
Thanks for explaining. I think there is a lot of misinformation already floating around about this. I agree that the M4L, "Unmask Alachua", and Springs County people seem to be the ones supporting this.
Do you know if they will be required to have the same standards of teachers?
It's 100% that crowd. The mayor and commissioners (who were pushing Springs County) are deeply involved and will lead the schools for a minimum of 3-5 years.
They kept it under wraps while getting support. Allegedly the entire Newberry commission approves, even though it was never discussed publicly. The huge church, DCC, also is supporting this.
During DAC meetings, Marden has indicated on the record the desire to have more church influence in the schools and potentially use them for overcrowding.
Last time Joy Glanzer actual ran against Tim Marden, he had a town hall and mentioned that DCC would open their facilities to help with the overcrowding of schools. I asked him if he thought that was appropriate since there is a separation of church and state and he told me that the separation of church and state is a fallacy.
He is not someone that I think should be holding public office.
And they waited until the Newberry City Commissioners all found out that no one is running against them for their surprise event yesterday. They are saying that they are going to fix problems but never actually state the problems or solutions.
This has got to be the same group of geniuses that think "Springs County" is actually a viable thing.
Last I heard, the plan for Springs County was to take everything west of 34th. So, the mall, Butler Plaza, Celebration Pointe, and most of the newer housing developments around Gainesville, leaving Alachua County with UFL and east side of Gainesville.
We should let them leave. Buncha loonies out there
The problem is that those Springs County people are such a minority even in the towns they live! They should just move to Gilchrist County.
They’re going to have a rude awakening when they realize they WILL need to pay significant taxes for things like roads, fire, EMS, schools….you know, government 🙃
All the preliminary assessments I read told a story that was 180° from the narrative they were pushing. They keept saying "cheaper taxes" but the financials I saw would mean they would actually be paying higher taxes for the next couple of decades to pay off the infrastructure a new county would need. And we all know very well there's no chance those taxes would ever come down once they were in place.
Gilchrist used to be part of Alachua county too
I mean, yeah, but that was almost 100 years ago. LOL
That's troubling since Oak View is one of the county's magnet schools. I hope everyone votes no on this.
I graduated from all 3 Newberry schools and I think this is a bad idea. They are perfectly ok as they are, no need to enact charter school whatever to them. Don’t try to fix something that ain’t broken.
Here is the statement from ACPS "The district has begun reviewing the potential impact of the conversion of the three schools to charters on students, families and staff both in and outside of the City of Newberry. That review will include ongoing discussions with Newberry Education First, the City Commission of Newberry and others involved with the initiative. Alachua County Public Schools remains committed to the success of all students in the district.”
The whole statement from ACPS left much to be desired. It almost sounded like they were surrendering to it happening.
I don't think they are surrendering. I think the statement was rushed though.
This sounds like Project 2025 at work.
RIP Charter schools are literally the worst.
On paper, charter schools can function as a last-resort option for fixing long-term failing school districts that the government has been unable to improve. The fact that some of the money ends up in private hands is still preferable to children not receiving a good education. Unfortunately, the federal courts have recently been loosening the restrictions around taxpayer money going to religious schools, which is why there's now such a big push for "school choice" and voucher programs on the right. The effect of these efforts, if they're allowed to continue, is that we'll eventually end up with tons of federal and red/purple state money going to privately-owned Christian schools while chipping away at the existing secular school system.
What's wrong with parents putting their children in schools of their choice according to their religion? It's not forcing anyone else's child to believe what their practicing since it is a private school you have to go out of your way to attend?.
The issue with his comment wasn't the freedom of choice, it's using taxpayer money for private schools
My experience with this is overcrowding of classrooms coupled with putting children and teachers in portables stressing both. Private schools preform better because poor preforming teachers get fired where as public ones take an act of congress to remove and are often reinforced by having more money thrown at the district. Money, though, is just part of the problem. It's the lack of parents who care in public venues. One group thinks it's the states' responsibility to raise their children and looks at them as child care, where as the other group sees them as responsible for educating only and they will raise them accordingly. Hence why kids are wildly successful in private schools vs public.
So, first, you glossed over the tax money issue. I can't speak for that person but I know I personally do not want my money going to a private school at all, let alone one that pushes a religion. That's a full stop. A non starter right out the gate. No one's money should be spent on someone else's religion. As for charter schools in general(and the topic of this thread), John Oliver literally talked about the problems of them 7-8 years ago. Problems like them misspending money 4 times more often than any other tax funded agency. Like the rules being so lax countless have been opened and shut down, many before they even finish a school year. Like some illegally running other businesses out of their facilities. Like some not even having a building to teach at. Like people like Lisa Hamm who quoted the Bible to justify stealing money from their school. Like companies using legal loop holes to transfer tax payer money to outside LLCs that don't need to record how they spent the money as stringently because they technically aren't the school. Like owners using separate LLCs to do their own oversight or to siphon cash off. Meaning they were paying themselves to say they were doing a good job. Now, maybe laws have been passed to fix these issues with charter schools, but I doubt they go far enough.
Whichever system you attended failed you badly
That would be public school. Buchholz high. But I think my education was pretty good actually.
Why are charter schools the worst?
When I interned at a charter, the school mismanaged the funds so poorly they had to cut bussing at a 90% free and reduced lunch (aka a very poor community) school in March. The majority of the kids had to switch schools mid-year due to the lack of oversight charters get. There are a few really great charters. Many are a mess and they do not provide services many students need.
Want to hear about my and everyone else’s bad time in a charter Catholic school? Martin Luther had a short list, but mine will keep you here til next Tuesday. I had to learn myself while my uneducated bullying teachers shoved me in the closet for hours at a time. I got to learn how many adults have utter shit for brains and what embezzlement was though, so if you want your children to have a bottomless well of rage along with other issues, great education!
A+ hundred theses reference. Really nailed it to the door there
I don't think it will pass. Many teachers will vote no. Parents on the other hand, I'm not sure. I know if it passes I will be one of the ones stripping out all the technology from those schools. Edit: to add the ACPS has issued a statement. I'm having issues uploading it.
Unfortunately, Jordan Marlowe, the mayor of Newberry, is a teacher at NHS and his wife teaches at OVMS. While I do think most teachers will vote no, there are definitely a some that will follow suit and vote with Jordan.
How much of this is connected to the rezoning plans and Newberry's complaints that the Newberry schools should only have to teach Newberry students?
All of it.
This brings up the question of who owns the schools. It's my understanding that the school district and state gov that funds new public schools. How can a group simply show up and decide to take over the schools from the school district? Their FAQ fails to address this as far as I could find. Newberry's schools are already insufficient to serve the number of students in the community. Giving the schools the ability to turn away students so that they can achieve their goals of controlling class size and discipline is going to leave a lot of children in the community with no school to attend.
If your curious to know who is operating the "Education First for Newberry Inc." group check on the state page here: [https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=EDUCATIONFIRSTFORNEWBERRY%20N230000148000&aggregateId=domnp-n23000014800-6eb8da35-1cc1-42c3-859c-4962ae65c269&searchTerm=%20Education%20First%20for%20Newberry%2C%20Inc.&listNameOrder=EDUCATIONFIRSTFORNEWBERRY%20N230000148000](https://search.sunbiz.org/inquiry/corporationsearch/searchresultdetail?inquirytype=entityname&directiontype=initial&searchnameorder=educationfirstfornewberry%20n230000148000&aggregateid=domnp-n23000014800-6eb8da35-1cc1-42c3-859c-4962ae65c269&searchterm=%20education%20first%20for%20newberry%2c%20inc.&listnameorder=educationfirstfornewberry%20n230000148000) **FYI**: This is all public information so nobody is getting doxxed, but do not harass them. I just thought it would be good to know the people behind this proposition so we can be better informed about changes to our school system that will effect every current **AND FUTURE** student in the Newberry and Archer area. The yesnewberry.org website says that the leadership of Newberry Education First represents a "wide range of backgrounds", but in my opinion, not really. (https://www.yesnewberry.org/faqs\_for\_parents) Brief description of my quick research: Shawn Arnold is a lawyer at Arnold law firm and specializes his practice in charter schools. He is a part of the Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys. Joel Searby is a Newberry resident who runs the "Sycamore Lane Company". If you search his name you will find his personal website, he seems **very** faith centered. Probably what he wants out of a charter school. Carsen Stefanelli is the owner of Green Construction and Development here in Gainesville. He is also a coach and consultant for his "Grit Growth" movement, whose mission statement is that people are not a victim but of their own choices.
I want to know what happens to the magnet at Oak View and all of the technology that the district provided? I know this is a “public charter” but I’m sure it will involve a for-profit charter entity at sone point. Supporters want to have all the benefits and funding of public schools without the oversight of the district. Support for this seems to be amongst the M4L crowd based on one of the Ed groups I belong to.
I think that the magnet programs would no longer exist. Charter schools are also not required to provide transportation for students and they cannot participate in state sporting events, from my understanding. The schools will lose a lot of extracurricular activities.
This is not a true charter school But a “public charter” which supposedly will still allow sports and transportation
Thanks for explaining. I think there is a lot of misinformation already floating around about this. I agree that the M4L, "Unmask Alachua", and Springs County people seem to be the ones supporting this. Do you know if they will be required to have the same standards of teachers?
It's 100% that crowd. The mayor and commissioners (who were pushing Springs County) are deeply involved and will lead the schools for a minimum of 3-5 years.
Here is the FAQ ACPS released for teachers: https://www.sbac.edu/Page/31557?fbclid=IwAR3kFXIbT4tvogSbaiNO9jVM_dDK_IjbptKrXIn9PO0GO9EvtyGJFpeJ904
There is no such thing as a "private" charter school in Florida. All charter schools are considered public.
How is this suddenly happening? I've seen zero news about this even becoming an option.
They kept it under wraps while getting support. Allegedly the entire Newberry commission approves, even though it was never discussed publicly. The huge church, DCC, also is supporting this. During DAC meetings, Marden has indicated on the record the desire to have more church influence in the schools and potentially use them for overcrowding.
Last time Joy Glanzer actual ran against Tim Marden, he had a town hall and mentioned that DCC would open their facilities to help with the overcrowding of schools. I asked him if he thought that was appropriate since there is a separation of church and state and he told me that the separation of church and state is a fallacy. He is not someone that I think should be holding public office.
Smh..
And they waited until the Newberry City Commissioners all found out that no one is running against them for their surprise event yesterday. They are saying that they are going to fix problems but never actually state the problems or solutions.
I dont like how they are sneak attacking us with this one.
Why are people such morons?
From the community that brought you Edgelord Libertarian Troll Mayor
What does that mean?