Huge, Upscale Charter Planned For Parkland

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

Parkland parents won’t have to wait for school improvements promised if an $800 million bond referendum passes.

 

michael udine

Michael Udine

A leading charter school company has an option on 10 acres in Parkland to build a huge upscale facility for up to 2,000 students, according to Parkland Mayor Michael Udine.

“It’s going to be build,” predicted Udine. “It will get the support of parents. This will be very successful because it will be done right. It will not be a storefront charter school. I’ve been told this will have all the bells and whistles.”

Academica, a statewide charter firm based in Miami-Dade County, will own and operate the school. The firm already runs charters in Broward, such as Ben Gamla, a school in Hollywood which teaches Hebrew along with traditional subjects.

If all the approvals are obtained from Parkland, Academica hopes to have the new school opened by the 2016-2017 school year, according to a spokesman for the firm.

Academica’s website states the firm was “founded in 1999 on the principle that each charter school is a unique educational environment governed by an independent Board of Directors that best knows the right path for its school, and Academica’s mission is to facilitate that Governing Board’s vision. Academica has a proven track-record developing growing networks of high performing charter schools.”

Parkland school will offer education to Kindergarten through eighth grade. It will have enough space to build a high school in the future.

It is being built in the so-called wedge, an area of northwest Parkland annexed from Palm Beach County.

Udine said the school has promised to offer a full program of music, art and languages. “It will have all the stuff that is being cut from the public schools,” the mayor said.

Construction of the charter would end the controversy around a proposal to send Parkland students to Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach schools. School Board member Abby Freedman triggered a storm of protests when she proposed that as a way to guarantee classroom space for the city.

The school still needs to be approved by the city.

Udine and the Parkland Commission has been especially aggressive about obtaining new education opportunities for residents.  The city signed an agreement earlier this year with three home builders to give enough money to build eight new classrooms in local public schools.

Udine said CharterUSA, another huge charter school company, has also expressed interest in building in Parkland.

 

(Full disclosure: My wife works for Academica.) 

 

 



14 Responses to “Huge, Upscale Charter Planned For Parkland”

  1. count l f chodkiewicz chudzikiewicz says:

    VeGood! Parkland is doing something positive while our cowardly co school board sits around letting their useless superintdenr play poltics n give over 22 0/0 raises to his female non teaching cronies

  2. Mike Thomlonson says:

    Thank you to the City of Parkland for your foresight on this. There will be a number of people who don’t like charter schools come out and bash the project but as a Parkland resident watching the schools reach capacity I will not be one of those folks. I support your willingness to examine all potential avenues to educate our students. We know the project will be first class for your support and you will have the blessing of much of the community.

  3. Alice McGill says:

    Deja vu all over again. Prediction: about a year after the Parkland school opens, the directors will be whining for more dollars a la the style of the City of Pembroke Pines.

  4. Chaz Stevens, Genius says:

    Udine must have wickedly good hearing.

  5. Broward Guy says:

    Alice is 100% right. Plus, the City of Parkland thinks because they have money that they are equivalent to Fort Lauderdale, like they are some big player in Broward. All they do is whine when they don’t get their way. And honestly, doesn’t a company named Academica sound like it belongs any where but Parkland?

  6. Andrew Ladanowski says:

    This can be considered a non-confidence vote for the school board. Do I interpret this correctly as Parkland will not be supporting the bond and would rather build and add portables to their own schools when required.

  7. Ha ha says:

    “Upscale charter” — of course! We would expect nothing less from Parkland!

  8. Lamberti is a Criminal says:

    when do we start busing in the Central Broward students?

  9. Enough says:

    I am a charter school parent who is very happy with the school my son attends. The district public school his older sister attended was not good but the charter school was not available to her, it is to my son.

    You people are insane. If my son’s school is a public school and I am paying taxes for public education what gives the school district the nerve to deny my son’s school anything?

    I sense a bunch of people here who are more interested in their jobs than educating my son. That is why I sent him to the charter alternative to begin with. I am sick and tired of government types screwing the taxpayer around and am not going to take it anymore.

    Treat my family with respect or I will vote no for everything and everyone associated with that school district.

  10. Shaun says:

    Upscale charter as opposed to all those “low rent” ones, correct? The mayor may not understand charter laws but they can’t choose to enroll only Parkland children first, as it is a CHOICE school. Nice try with that bogus sales pitch. Can someone find out how much Academica offered to finance his next campaign? We have amazing public schools here that his children benefitted from greatly, and this will completely drain resources from those schools. Someone might remind him and everyone else they are FOR PROFIT. SO what services are they cutting to make the profit? (usually ESE ones..shhh).

  11. Michael Udine says:

    Upscale charter as opposed to all those “low rent” ones, correct?

    (MU: As I mentioned, I have not seen all the details yet, but, upscale as in a stand alone campus with all of the relevant programming, not a “store front” type that I see popping up elsewhere. All of this will have to go through Parkland’s active Education Advisory Board and Planning and Zoning board. I would think that the only way this would make it through our planning process would be for the proposed school to have extremely high end programs and offerings.)

    The mayor may not understand charter laws but they can’t choose to enroll only Parkland children first, as it is a CHOICE school. Nice try with that bogus sales pitch.

    (The submission has just been made and “no” all of the laws have not been researched yet, by our city attorney and the like, but I was told that pursuant to current law, the school could be open to local Parkland residents first, then, open to all…. In any event, Parkland’s strategic plan states that we would like to see all children that live in Parkland go to schools in Parkland…. Nowhere do we state that we don’t want someone not living in Parkland going to the schools located in Parkland. We very much understand the concept of the County School System.)

    Can someone find out how much Academica offered to finance his next campaign?

    (Nothing. I have never received any campaign contributions from anyone in the Charter School Industry.)

    We have amazing public schools here that his children benefitted from greatly, and this will completely drain resources from those schools.

    (I AGREE 100 percent. The public schools in Parkland are great. I support them both as an elected official and as a parent and MY PREFERENCE, would be for the BCSB to use the land, that Parkland, GAVE them and to build an additional school. They have the land…. PARKLAND has provided them funds to build permanent capacity. I am pretty sure we could figure out a way to do so again as there are more opportunities in the future with other parcels that would like to be annexed into the City, but the BCSB is saying they do not want to or cant build in Parkland. Even in the 800 Million dollar bond proposal, they say there is ZERO dollars for more school seats in Parkland….. How about the school board gives us back the land AND the impact fees from the Wedge and we will figure out a way to get a school built for them!)

    Someone might remind him and everyone else they are FOR PROFIT. SO what services are they cutting to make the profit?

    ( I understand this concept, so this is what they will have to show us when the present along the process through our EAB, Planning Board and City Commission.)

  12. Greenbean says:

    Who’s behind Academica? What are their academic and business qualifications? And if they are draining taxpayer resources for private profit, who benefits?

  13. Laynep says:

    I live in parkland and my kids are finished with school. I’m not in favor of charter schools when Broward schools are available. There will be a need in Parkland for more student seats at all grades. Coconut Creek schools are too overcrowded. Coral Springs schools are at capacity. Smart business recognizes the need for a charter school in Parkland because Broward school can’t build schools there yet This has nothing to do with the mayor politically, He is and has only lookied out for the children of Parkland. That’s the only reason behind the charter school THE CHILDREN.

  14. Ghost of McLovin says:

    Good Responses Mayor Udine. Good Luck