A bill allowing children to attend any public school of their choosing, regardless of the district, continues moving in the Florida legislature. But lawmakers got hung up on an amendment to the bill regarding how enrollment preferences are given to businesses or people who donate land.
Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, says the amendment is just to clarify that pending deals between school districts and developers won’t be affected if the bill passes.
“This bill makes sure we don’t disrupt agreements in place before July 1, 2016 between school boards and developers.
But Democratic Senator Steve Geller had a question.
“What kind of enrollment preferences are given to people who donate something?” He asked. And that sparked a lengthy discussion on the role between districts and developers.
In some districts, developers create communities and districts plan for new schools if they expect a large number of families in the area. A similar example is the Florida State University Lab School, located in the Tallahassee neighborhood of Southwood. The school used a preference system that allowed families first dibs on enrollment. The neighborhood also falls within a separate school zone. Committee chairwoman Marlene O’Toole says such agreements take many forms, but aren’t unusual.
"There are many situations with many titles, but in the case of the Village Charter School, he [the developer] built it. He built it from PreK-12," O'Toole explained. "All the people who live in the Villages like me pay ad valorum taxes to support it and we don’t have a single kid, because we’re all retirees, over 55. So there are lots and lots of different deals that go on, whether they be charter schools or this one.”
But it’s an uncomfortable concept to many lawmakers, who view it as a pay-to-play.
“This is America. So my question is, doesn’t this in fact say we’re ratifying the concept that people can buy a seat in a public school by donating land? Isn’t that the raw reading of this?” Said Rep. Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach.
But Sprowls argues the move is just for clarity:
“What we’re talking about isn’t a family who donates an acre of land. We’re talking about a business that goes into a blank piece of dirt and wants to construct a school. The district can deal with that however they see fit. We’re just trying not to interfere with that.”
The amendment was approved and the public school choice bill is now heading the House floor. There are several bills in the Senate that relate to Sprowls’ bills and those proposals are still moving through committees.
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