Two charter academies have sent letters of intention to move into Collier County Public Schools under a new Florida law that allows some charters to “co-locate” within public schools.
Public schools eligible for this co-location include persistently low-performing schools; those within five miles of a “Florida Opportunity Zone,” defined as an economically distressed area; and schools with unused or vacant space.
These charter academies have applied according to Florida's Schools of Hope program, which was established in 2017. The rule allowing them to co-locate was passed during the last Florida Legislative session.
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Mater Academy and Somerset Academy sent letters to Collier Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli dated Nov. 11. Both declared their intention to move into Naples Park Elementary and Everglades City School with grades kindergarten through fifth grade beginning in August 2027. Neither are low-performing schools.
Only Mater Academy is a state-approved provider, so the Somerset demand would seem to be off the table.
The school system has 20 days from receipt of the letters in which to respond. It may object only on the grounds of “material impracticability,” although it’s not clear what that means.
Co-location could mean a substantial cost to the public school in which a Schools of Hope charter is located.
According to Florida Department of Education document, Rule 6A-1.0998271 of the Florida Administrative Code, “the school district must permit a School of Hope to have the practical and effective use of all or part of an educational facility at no cost.”
The statute outlines that the public school districts must continue paying for utilities, busing, custodial services and even meals for the new charter students — all at no cost to the charter operator.
Consequently, critics of the program say that being required to provide such a list of services will siphon money and perhaps students from the public schools in which Schools of Hope charters are co-located. They also argue that the change of statute occurring late at night on the last day of the legislative session on June 16 was suspect.
In response to a recent question from the Florida Roundup, Mater Academy sent a statement saying in part that its goal is to "increase access for families and bring students back into the classroom."
"For more than 25 years, Mater has been committed to expanding access to high-quality, tuition-free public education, and this pathway aligns directly with our mission and with the broader parental choice movement in Florida."
Mater Academy, one of Florida’s largest charter school networks, filed notices in early October to co-locate inside five Sarasota and Manatee county schools — part of a broader wave of early filings across the state that districts say were submitted prematurely. According to officials, charter operators were supposed to wait until Nov. 11 to submit a notice.
In Lee County, Superintendent Denise Carlin said the district had been notified of intention to co-locate by two charter academies, but neither were state-approved Schools of Hope operators.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties, contributed to this report.
