One of the nation’s best-known military bases may be at odds with one of the nation’s biggest school districts over a proposed charter school.
Officials with the 200,000-student Hillsborough County School District in Tampa, Fla., have recommended an initial denial for a charter school sought by the community at MacDill Air Force Base, the headquarters for U.S. Central Command.
In a Dec. 4 letter released by the district Thursday afternoon, Hillsborough’s charter schools director told an official with the Florida Charter Educational Foundation, the not-for-profit partnering with Charter Schools USA and the base to run the proposed school, that the district is recommending an initial denial “based on the application as written.”
The issue centers around the district’s “inability to determine the identity of the governing board.” The director noted, however, that a final recommendation is pending an upcoming meeting with the charter school’s organizers, and that it is possible the recommendation for denial could be withdrawn.
The initial recommendation comes after Superintendent MaryEllen Elia publicly raised concerns about the application and said the district could meet the needs of military families.
The applicants plan to meet with the district at 8 a.m. Monday. Their proposal for the K-8 MacDill Charter Academy is among seven going before the Hillsborough school board on Tuesday. In Florida, school boards authorize charter schools in their districts. The other six charter applications have received recommendations for approval.
The proposed 872-student academy would offer a middle school option currently not available on the base, as well as hundreds of more seats for a growing population of families with young children moving into new on-site housing. Part of the district’s concern is it already has an elementary school on the base, A-rated Tinker Elementary.
