Neighbors Andi Brown, Mike Malley, and Tony Ringelspaugh recently rallied their tight-knit Palm Harbor community of roughly 66 homeowners to fight commercial development of an abutting residential/agricultural greenspace. The property in question, designated by the county as a rural area “worthy of preservation,” entered into a tentative contract for sale to a developer to build a new charter school campus on the currently wooded site.
The neighbors weren’t against the charter school per se, but rather the questionable location because of its broader logistical impacts. Their protest wasn’t against expanded educational options for nearby families, but instead against infrastructure upheaval and the fact that another school was already in place and still operating, though at only approximately 60% capacity.
What began as an effort to stop commercial development on natural greenspace inadvertently unearthed deeper problems with the public school system. As it turns out, the neighbors trying to preserve the wooded area, a tract of untouched land the Pinellas County Commission designated in 2006 as “worthy of preservation,” have since learned their tentative new neighbor, the Discovery Academy of Science charter school, doesn’t pose the real threat. In fact, the challenges lie with the public school systems across the state, and this is just one example.
Zoning Conflicts and Educational Mandates
The 66 homeowners in the Alderman Rural Residential Overlay along Belcher Road aren’t opposed to more schools opening in Pinellas County. Their objection concerns the specific location—a location that’s currently zoned for residential and agricultural use. But a compromise may already have been reached, as a substantially larger parcel on Manning Road is better suited to a new Discovery Academy of Science charter school campus. Unlike the Alderman and Belcher tract, the Manning Road property isn’t privately owned. Instead, it’s owned by none other than the Pinellas County School Board, according to public records. But this raises the question of why the school board would approve a charter school expansion right next to an existing public elementary school that’s merely operating at about two-thirds capacity.
The answer? The Pinellas County School Board is just following state law.
That’s right. The State of Florida mandates that charter schools that meet all necessary criteria must be approved by municipal education boards, even if the new charter campus will be located right next to an existing public school already serving district students, regardless of that public school’s performance. In other words, the municipality cannot deny a properly qualified charter under Florida law.
And although charter schools are funded quite similarly to public schools in two minimal ways, sharing property tax revenue and some state funding, they must raise their own capital to develop and operate. Charters do not receive any money from local public school districts. As a result, charters, run by non-profits, rely heavily on grants, loans, private lines of credit, and philanthropy because they are tuition-free. This means charters are almost entirely responsible for securing their own funding, and are subsequently run by private educational entities which must meet certain performance guidelines to remain open. If a charter school fails to meet specific standards, the local public school district that granted the charter can revoke said charter and close the campus.
These rules are part of the Sunshine State’s initiative to improve education across the peninsula, particularly to help incentivize public districts to deliver better results. And some studies, such as one from Florida State University, show that this method can work. Notwithstanding, it points to another problem that’s plaguing not only Pinellas County Public Schools but also neighboring Hillsborough County and other districts across the state.
Community Concerns and Educational Gaps
Neighbors Andi Brown, Mike Malley, and Tony Ringelspaugh (who is running for Pinellas County Commissioner, District 4, and currently serves as the HOA President of the Fox Chase West Property Owners Association) agree that public schools aren’t delivering the desired educational outcomes. They didn’t oppose the building of a new charter school, just one that would replace greenspace with yet another commercial property, and Ringelspaugh says that perfectly encapsulates why he’s running for a seat on the Commission. “I’m focusing on County residents and their properties. We’re overbuilt as it is, and we need to do better with studies and budget transparency, which goes to another question I’ve been asking about Pennies for Pinellas for years: ‘Where is all the money going?’”
Brown and Malley agree with his sentiment but also wonder why it’s necessary to further disrupt traffic on an already overcrowded route along Belcher Road near Alderman. If a new charter school was constructed in the forested area where all kinds of wildlife live, including at least one bobcat, those animals would be displaced, but that isn’t the only problem.
Sutherland Elementary School is situated right by the protected rural area, creating a traffic nightmare during the school year, particularly when special events are held on campus. So, if the Discovery Academy of Science were to choose the much smaller, undeveloped, and currently protected parcel, it would make traffic a lot more complicated and dangerous for families coming in and out of Sutherland Elementary, but that would not be the case with the substantially larger Manning Road site. Still, it also wouldn’t solve another ongoing issue throughout Pinellas County: its lackluster public school system suffering from years-long, sharply shrinking student population.
While the district cites a declining birth rate and a net exodus of residents from the county, private schools are easily filling classrooms to capacity and even have extensive waiting lists of hundreds of applicants, including Indian Rocks Christian, Northside Christian, Calvary, and more. Additionally, established charter schools and magnet programs have long waitlists too. Meanwhile, Pinellas County Schools are closing and consolidating campuses due to an ongoing enrollment decline, yet its K-12 private, charter, and magnet competition are filling seats at near-record highs.
What started as an objection to developing natural space has revealed a big problem with the public school system, a system that continues to struggle to provide the quality education families seek for their kids; families who are strategically choosing better alternatives with demonstrable track records.
So why don’t public school districts step up to match or outperform their charter, magnet, and private school rivals even as they continue to lose students? That’s precisely what many Tampa Bay area families and others around the state are asking. But those families aren’t waiting for answers. Instead, they are simply quietly quitting public schools.
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