Newberry Charter School Conversion Raises Questions, Town Halls Scheduled

ALACHUA ‒ Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) spokesperson Jackie Johnson on Feb. 23, 2024 issued a statement about a website by ACPS to provide information to the public about the proposed conversion of Newberry public schools to public charter schools.

The City of Newberry and a group called Newberry Education First have requested a vote by classroom teachers and parents on the conversion of Newberry Elementary School, Oak View Middle School and Newberry High School to charter schools beginning with the 2025-26 school year.

The proposed conversion has both proponents and critics with some questioning what such a system would look like to current employees and students. The website created by ACPS attempts to answer some of those questions and can be reached at http://www.sbac.edu/charterconversion.

The ACPS website reads in part, “We don’t yet have all the answers, and a lot of the questions will have to be answered by the City of Newberry and Newberry Education First. Even if the conversion is approved, the new operators and the district will have to agree on a charter outlining roles, responsibilities, operations and more.

“On this site we will be answering some of the most commonly-asked questions about the potential impact of a conversion.  An FAQ for employees and fact sheet for parents has already been posted.

“Please note that some of this information comes from the Newberry Education First website, which is being revised frequently.”

The ACPS website also provides links to information about the voting process. A timeline for conducting the vote is under development and will be posted when available.

A host of information is provided about the status of current school employees if the conversion moves forward.  Topics include employer, job guarantee, collective bargaining, benefits, salaries, health insurance, and retirement.

Among other areas of information are student attendance and zoning, transportation, special needs students, athletics, and school resource officers.

Newberry First has created its own website of frequently asked questions and responses at https://www.yesnewberry.org/faq.  Newberry Education First will be holding town halls in Archer and Newberry for parents, teachers and interested parties ahead of the April timeline of voting about the public charter school system.

A town hall meeting will be held in Archer on Feb. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Archer Community Center, 16671 S.W. 137th Avenue, Archer.  Additional meetings will be held March 6 and March 26 in Newberry at 6 p.m. at the Mentholee Municipal Building, 25420 W. Newberry Road, Newberry.  To RSVP online to the meeting go to https://www.yesnewberry.org/. 

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