The State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to officers of Escambia County to execute a freelance with a charter-school corporate to perform a center college this is suffering. Failure to agree to this ultimatum might consequence within the state withholding the pay of the district superintendent and school-board participants. The State Board of Education held a distinct assembly to speak about the “turnaround plan” for Warrington Middle School, with the Escambia district in negotiations with Charter Schools USA.
According to Diaz, Warrington Middle School has no longer won a college grade above a “D” within the ultimate 10 years and has proven deficient efficiency in statewide exams. The district selected a charter-school operator to take keep an eye on of the college in 2019. Despite this, the college used to be nonetheless not able to give a boost to its grade to a “C” or higher beneath two different turnaround choices. The State Board of Education licensed a charter-school turnaround plan in 2022, following a measure handed by way of the Legislature in 2017 that permits constitution operators to take over college operations when efficiency has been constantly deficient.
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The district used to be required to execute a freelance with a charter-school corporate by way of May 1, however simplest submitted rent and constitution agreements with Renaissance Charter School, Inc., affiliated with Charter Schools USA. Although the agreements had been signed by way of the Escambia Superintendent of Schools Tim Smith and Escambia School Board Chairman Paul Fetsko, a consultant of Renaissance Charter School didn’t signal. State Board of Education member Esther Byrd wondered Smith in regards to the district’s non-compliance with the regulation.
The State Board of Education licensed a advice by way of Diaz that if the contract isn’t licensed inside of two days, the commissioner will document “the district’s failure” to the Legislature. In reaction, investment to the district will probably be withheld, similar to the salaries of the school-board participants and superintendent. Diaz has additionally just lately pursued sanctions in opposition to no less than one different county college chief, Leon County Superintendent of Schools Rocky Hanna, for problems equivalent to requiring mask to struggle the unfold of COVID-19.
