NEWBERRY, FL (352today.com) – Charter school conversion supporters in Newberry are claiming victory, stating the vote to convert Newberry Elementary School to a charter has passed.

On Monday, the group called Education First for Newberry posted on its Facebook page saying the Florida Department of Education confirmed the teacher vote threshold for passage of a charter conversion had been reached.

“Having already achieved the 50% threshold for the parent vote, Newberry Elementary School has thus passed the conversion vote and will begin its charter application for submission to the state Charter Review Commission,” said the group in the post.

Teachers and parents at three schools – Newberry Elementary, Oak View Middle and Newberry High Schools – voted on the conversion over the course of a week in April. On Wednesday, April 17, Alachua County Super of Elections Kim Barton oversaw counting of the votes and announced the votes had failed for all three schools. But charter school supporters questioned the outcome of the vote for Newberry Elementary and took its case to the state for review. The district claimed there were multiple improperly submitted ballots including one teacher ballot.

According to the supporters, the state replied saying that the statue requires at least 50% of the teachers employed at the school and a sufficient percentage of parents voted in favor of converting the school to a charter.

“The statute does not require a majority. It requires only 50%. Even with the invalidated ballot, there were 22 votes in favor of conversion, which is exactly 50% of the total number of teachers,” the group said in its post.

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“We are thrilled with this news and are incredibly excited to work closely with administrators, teachers, parents and the district as we prepare our charter application,” said Education First for Newberry board member and Newberry Elementary School parent Chelsea Leming.
The group went on to say they are moving forward with naming a governing board and preparing the in-depth application for a charter conversion.
In response to the “Yes Newberry” group’s claim, a spokesperson for Alachua County Public Schools issued this statement:

“As of the end of business today (Monday), the district had not received any official notification from the Florida Department of Education about changing the results of the Newberry Elementary School conversion vote. We are required by the state statute on charter schools to follow the State Board of Education rule (6A-6.0787) regarding the conversion vote. Education First Newberry reiterated this on several occasions, including in letters to all three school principals, on their website, and in statements by their leadership during community meetings. Obviously, we do not want to risk violating the statute and the State Board rule unless we have confirmation and clarification directly from the state.