GAINESVILLE - The Gainesville School Board may be forced to make hard decisions concerning its charter system with state legislation to cut funding now in the senate according to School Superintendent Merrianne Dyer.
Monday night Dr. Dyer said if the charter school bill is passed, board members would have to decide how to fund their charter schools or even keep them.
"With the loss of the Charter System funding it would mean another $650,000 that Gainesville would lose in state funding," she said.
Dr. Dyer said the charter agreement is still in place until June 2013; it would be a matter of the Board deciding to continue the charter system.
"There is a possibility we may be funded through the expiration of our charter," Dyer added. "If that's the case then funding would continue for one additional year, but the Board would have to contemplate if they want to renew charter system status and go through that work without any additional funding."
Dr. Dyer said she does not foresee changes in the way the charter system operates but changes would occur with the reduction of funding.
"That additional funding is meant to support innovation and we use it for additional advance placement classes, talent development, gifted services and transportation for schools of choice," she said. "The Board would have to decide if to continue those things they would have to fund it with regular general fund money."
Dyer says a separate measure would take local authority away from school boards with a state run charter school system.
"That legislation speaks to schools that did not have local board approval but were approved by state commission", according to Dyer."Charter schools were set up mostly by private entities in areas without local board approval and the funds were removed from the local board."
The measure affects all public schools because it would change to give the state the ability to remove funds from local school boards and move it to charter commission schools.
"It really would set up a dual school system, one with public education funds with local boards running it, the other with state commissioned schools," Dr. Dyer said.
RECOGNITION NIGHT
Monday night was a big recognition night at the Gainesville School Board meeting, so big the board moved their meeting to the New Holland Elementary School Gym. There were 19 separate recognitions for academics and sports according to Superintendent Dyer.
Students, student athletes, teachers and even board members were recognized for service and achievement during the school year.
Thursday
October 17th, 2024
7:24AM
