Parents can no longer buy volunteer hours

Pembroke Pines charter schools had an option for parents who wanted to skip the mandatory volunteering — they could buy their way out of it.

And for almost a decade they did. Then the city learned it’s against state law, so its back to the buffet line, sports fields and classrooms for moms and dads.

“There are a lot of parents who work long hours and there are some single parents who just don’t have the time on their hands and find it difficult to fulfill the 30-hour requirement,” said City Manager Charles Dodge, who is also superintendent of the city-run system.

The Broward County school district alerted the city to the problem after noticing the violation during a routine review. District spokeswoman Nadine Drew said the violation wasn’t serious enough to terminate the city’s charter school agreement with the state.

But for parents, it means no more paying $300 for 20 hours of service at the city’s six A-rated charter schools. Ten hours of actual labor were always required.

District schools in Broward and Palm Beach counties do not mandate volunteer hours, but charter schools can do so. They can also deny admission to students for the following year if the obligation isn’t fulfilled, according to the Florida Department of Education.

But paying down hours isn’t allowed, not even in the form of buying school materials.

The policy in Pines wasn’t a big revenue generator, but for a system that has gone through recent financial woes, every penny counts.

Last school year the buydown generated $22,000. Since 2008, it has raised approximately $170,000.

Rosa Webb, whose two sons went through the city’s charter school system, said she never had a problem fulfilling the 30 hour requirement.

“I’m very lucky, I work at home,” she said. “If you’re a single parent working 10-hour days, you might have to miss work to make those hours.”

The city created the charter system after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused a population explosion that left public schools severely overcrowded. Designed to feel like a traditional public school system, it also collaborated with area colleges and universities and took advantage of local education resources.

The formula was a hit with parents but in the past the system experienced years of $1 million-plus deficits. Some officials in 2013 expressed concern for they system’s survival.

However, increased state funding, additional fundraising, cuts to activities and other measures have put the system in the black.