In February 2021, a lower court ruling requires the Palm Beach County School District to share extra tax revenue — generated by a 2018 voter-approved referendum — with charter schools. Charter schools in Palm Beach serve more than 20,000 students.
In September 2021, the Florida Supreme Court decided not to review the lower court’s ruling. This means that charter schools in Palm Beach County stand to collect at least $45 million for this school year and the next one. “This is a win for charter school families and teachers,” said Lynn Norman Teck, executive director of the Florida Charter School Alliance, an advocacy group. “This battle over equitable funding for all students sheds a light on how the school district treats children who attend a public charter school, a large percentage of which are minority students.”
“I was proud to represent Western Academy when I spoke at the school board meeting two years ago and told them what they were doing was not only illegal but it was wrong. They did not care. They were the big dog who thought they could do what they wanted. They were wrong,” said Linda Terranova, founders, Western Academy Charter School (WACS). “While there were two named schools in this suit there were several others behind the scene as silent parties. I am so proud our WACS Board of Directors made a commitment to stand up so that we could fight for the law, for our school, and for what is right. This is a sweet victory for public charter schools and our teachers and students. This case will set precedence across Florida for charter schools in other districts to stand up. I look forward to the ruling on the retroactive payment next month. I stand for school choice!
Read more about the court decision here.
