Charter schools to collect at least $45 million in taxes

Charter schools in Palm Beach County are in for a windfall after the Florida Supreme Court let stand a ruling that requires the school district to share tax dollars approved by voters in 2018.

At a minimum, the county’s charter schools will be able to collect $45 million for this school year and next. Still undecided is whether the district must also retroactively share another $45 million collected during the past two years. A judge is expected to rule on that soon.

Two charter schools, Academy for Positive Learning and Palm Beach Maritime Academy, and two parents filed a lawsuit challenging the district’s decision to exclude charter schools from a 2018 referendum for teacher raises, safety, security and mental health.

The school district asked the Supreme Court to intervene after the 4th District Court of Appeals ruled in February that the district’s decision violated state law. Two prior rulings had been in favor of the district.

The Supreme Court decided Thursday not to take the case, meaning the favorable ruling for the charter schools stands.

“This is a win for charter school families and teachers,” said Lynn Norman Teck, executive director of the Florida Charter School Alliance, an advocacy group. “This battle over equitable funding for all students sheds a light on how the school district treats children who attend a public charter school, a large percentage of which are minority students.”

Palm Beach County has taken a harder stance against charter schools than other South Florida school districts. Broward and Miami-Dade placed similar referendums on the ballot in 2018, but both agreed to share some money with charter schools.

School Board members in Palm Beach County say they wrote the ballot language their constituents wanted.

“The voters of Palm Beach County were very specific in many community meetings what they wanted when we wrote the ballot language,” board member Erica Whitfield said.

Board Chairman Frank Barbieri said he is reviewing the case with district lawyers to see if there are any more legal avenues available.

“It seems to me the law has been ignored in this case, but I still believe the will of the voters in this matter should have been controlling and will continue to fight on behalf of the voters to see this matter through to the end,” he said.

The Legislature passed a law in 2019 that requires school districts to share referendum dollars with charter schools from that point foward.

This is the second time the school district has lost a major charter school battle. The School Board denied the application of two charter schools in 2014, saying they weren’t innovative enough. But that decision was later overturned by the courts and the Florida Board of Education.