Update at 3 p.m.: The School Board isn’t extending the city’s time to move forward on a charter school and West Palm Beach city spokesman Elliot Cohen says the city is no longer asking for another extension. He says the city is still seeking alternatives, but would not say whether that would include applying again for a charter or something else.
Original post: If West Palm Beach wants a charter school, it looks like it will have to reapply to the Palm Beach County School Board.
The school district appears to be letting the clock run out on its original, more than a year old, application. That means the soonest the city could open a charter would be fall of 2016 – not the fall of 2015 as it had first planned.
The city’s application was approved in September 2013 and then the clock started for the city to put together a final contract. West Palm Beach leaders asked for and received five extensions that took them to Sept. 1 2014 and then they asked for a sixth.
The city argued it needed more time in order to go through a bidding process to find someone to manage the school.
But when the School Board met earlier this month to consider that extension, board members Karen Brill and Frank Barbieri balked. The board didn’t vote to deny the extension. Instead Superintendent Wayne Gent pulled it and promised to return Oct. 15 – today.
That extension has been taken off tonight’s agenda, removed by the superintendent.
The school district’s one comment from spokesman Alex Sanchez: “West Palm Beach, like any other organization, is welcome to apply using the normal process any time, any year.”
Late Tuesday, West Palm Beach city spokesman Elliot Cohen said he believed the city was still in the process of asking for an extension.
The old application would’ve allowed West Palm Beach to open a charter as early as fall 2015. Any new application would mean a start date no earlier than fall 2016.
