New Titusville charter school determined to open

Just 10 days before her son's first day of kindergarten, Jennifer Deer received a troubling email. There was a chance her son's school wouldn't open in time for the first day of school.

"My initial reaction was panic," she said.

About 200 families received the same email "completely out of the blue" from Legacy Academy Charter School in Titusville, a new Pre-K through sixth-grade school that was scheduled to open this year.

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The school — which will focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math — is currently housed inside First United Methodist Church of Titusville on South Palm Avenue, which the district toured and approved, but will eventually be moved to the old Publix site on Knox McRae Drive.

Parents have already purchased uniforms, made after-school arrangements and withdrawn their children from neighborhood schools. If things fall through, Kaley Sheets has three children to scramble to register at other schools. Jenny Shippy would be in the same boat.

"It's just absolutely crazy," said Shippy, whose two children were slated to start second grade and third grade at Legacy Academy this fall. "I'm thinking all this was in place for everyone. This is very stressful."

According to the school district, the charter school didn't pass health inspections by deadline, and hadn't secured a certificate of occupancy from the city or met the necessary insurance requirements. A pre-opening checklist claims that Legacy Academy didn't have all of its curriculum materials, enough teachers hired or a food service plan in place, and some employees hadn't gone through the necessary background checks. 

"The school has known its requirements to open since signing its contract and receiving a checklist in April 2016," Brevard Public Schools spokesman Matt Reed said in an email.

It had until Aug. 7 to get everything in order. 

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But just a few days after alerting the school about the issues on July 27, the school board sent a letter on July 31 threatening to terminate the school's contract. 

"You say that we have until the 7th to complete these items, and then a day later you put out a document recommending termination," Chris Norwood said in frustration. Norwood is a governance and compliance consultant for independently owned charter schools across the state and is representing Legacy Academyduring this matter. 

"It is the school district that is causing a panic," he said, "not the school."

Documents claiming there was an "immediate and serious danger to the health, safety or welfare" of students blew things out of proportion, he added, given no children were on campus yet.

"I think that this could have happened in a much smoother way than in an immediate threat of termination," Norwood said. "We're supposed to be working in partnership with the school district."

Leaders from Legacy Academy claim many of the problems have already been fixed and are determined to open for the first day of school Aug. 10.

On Thursday, employees and construction workers were at the school installing fences and ramps for disabled students, covering religious paraphernalia and setting up classrooms. Administrators spent the day calling worried parents.

All that's left is an inspection Friday, which Norwood is confident the school will pass.

But once the news hit Facebook, some residents were skeptical if the school was ready to open and wondered if they should start looking for another school.

Some blamed the school district for targeting the school and speculated the charter school would pose competition for South Lake Elementary, which the district plans to reopen as a choice school in Titusville for the 2018-19 school year. 

More:Why is BPS reopening South Lake?

Norwood also seemed dubious of the district's intentions and said Legacy Academy had a good relationship with the school district since entering into the contract in 2015 until enrollment numbers came in.

"That's when the relationship began to sour to some extent," he said. "Because parents want an alternative" to traditional public schools. "That's why they've enrolled in this school, and some people may have a problem with that."

Two hundred students in the first year  is somewhat unheard of, he said. 

Superintendent Desmond Blackburn assured parents on the district's Facebook page that "the board and I are very pro-charter/choice. However, we don't have the authority to violate state or contractual rules."

He said if Legacy Academy doesn't open in time, there's room for students back at their neighborhood schools.

But many parents said issues at their zoned schools are what drove them to Legacy Academy in the first place.

"I will quit my job, find a way to make it work and home school him before he goes there," Deer said about the school her son's zoned for.

Plus, after taking on additional students from two shuttered schools, teachers and parents have complained that many of Titusville's elementary schools are overcrowded. South Lake's reopening is supposed to alleviate some of those issues. 

Brevard County is home to 11 charter schools, including one in Titusville, Sculptor Charter, which usually racks up a long waitlist. 

The school board has threatened to close a charter school before, back in August 2015 when audits found Campus Charter School had been loaning taxpayer dollars to a private company, the school’s finances were in arrears of $28,817 and its bank account was overdrawn. 

More:BPS to Campus Charter School: Fix issues or close

The board ultimately decided to keep the school open but promised to keep a watchful eye on it.

According to documents from the school district, Blackburn will recommend terminating Legacy Academy's contract at Tuesday's board meeting and the board will decide its fate. 

After speaking with Legacy Academy administrators who have eased their concerns, many parents, including Deer and Shippy, are sticking beside the school.

"I am confident things will be resolved," Deer said. "I plan on taking my son to his first day of kindergarten at Legacy Academy."

Caroline Glenn is the Education Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact her at caglenn@floridatoday.com or 321-576-5933, or follow her on Twitter @bycarolineglenn and like "Education at Florida Today" on Facebook.

School board meeting

The school board is scheduled to discuss the issues with Legacy Academy at its next meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at 2700 Judge Fran Jamieson Way
in Viera.