C11.02 - Approve Contract Termination for Community Charter School of Excellence (Charter Office)
Community Charter School of Excellence opened in 2008 serving students in grades Kindergarten through five. In 2011, the school added grades six through eight using the application process. The school requested to combine the two schools in 2015 and became a K-8 school for the 2015-2016 school year. The school has occupied four different locations during the time they have been open. They serve a Title I population with approximately 97% of their students eligible for free lunch.
Charter School legislation allows a school district to close a charter school if they do not meet one of several criteria in law. Community Charter School of Excellence failed to meet generally accepted standard for fiscal management and lack of proper governance, both of which allow for closure. In order to close the charter school, the district must follow Florida Statute 1002.33(8)(b) which states, “At least 90 days before renewing, nonrenewing, or terminating a charter, the sponsor shall notify the governing board of the school of the proposed action in writing. The notice shall state in reasonable detail the grounds for the proposed action and stipulate that the school’s governing board may, within 14 calendar days after receiving the notice, request a hearing.”
A notice of proposed action to terminate the charter was sent to Community Charter School of Excellence on April 20, 2020. The school held an emergency board meeting on April 25, 2020, where they voted to surrender the charter and work with the district on closure proceedings. The formal letter of notification to surrender the charter was received by the district on April 30, 2020.
The letter from Community Charter School of Excellence Board informing the district of their intent to surrender the charter and the letter from the Superintendent to Community Charter School of Excellence acknowledging the surrender with a termination date of June 30, 2020 are attached.
The chart below provides the current enrollment at the school by grade level and student home zip code. This information is provided in order to show where students reside and the potential impact on local district schools.
| Grade Level | 33549 | 33603 | 33604 | 33605 | 33610 | 33612 | 33613 | 33614 | 33617 | 33637 | Other |
| K | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 3 | 3 | 22 | 3 | 13 | 169 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
District schools that serve the highest number of students from the charter school are:
| 33604 | 33610 | 33612 | 33613 |
| Cleveland | Edison | Adams | Buchanan |
| Oak Grove | Ferrell | Forest Hills | Mort |
| Seminole | Foster | Lake Magdalene | Muller |
| Sulphur Springs | James | Miles | |
| Woodson | Lee | Shaw | |
| Lockhart | Witter | ||
| Lomax | |||
| Potter | |||
| Sheehy | |||
| Sligh | |||
| Williams | |||
| Young |
The chart below provides enrollment, fund balance, and state performance grade history for the previous 3 years and the current school year.
| Community Charter School of Excellence | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
| Enrollment | 198 | 204 | 259 | 252 |
|
Fund Balance Based on audit |
($38,666) | ($42,831) | ($32,522) | ($28,335)** |
| State Grade | C | C | D | D* |
*School grade remains the same due to the cancellation of statewide assessments for COVID-19.
** Based on March financial statement
The Charter Schools Office follows a Closure Action Plan to effectively ensure proper charter school closure. The school will receive the Closure Action Plan once the action to close the school is taken. The school will be made aware of their responsibilities in the process. A district-led closure team will be formed to execute the functions of the action plan. Considerations are being made regarding the execution of the plan and activities in alignment with COVID-19 health priority practices.
A report providing each student’s neighborhood school has been requested from Information Technology and will provide more specific information about student assignments to ensure all district schools which may be impacted are properly informed.
The Charter Schools Office will work closely with the Office of School Choice to provide parents with enrollment options for the upcoming school year.
* Improve the high school graduation rate
* Improve Student Achievement
* Provide a student-centered learning environment that engages every child
* Engage and communicate with families and stakeholders
* Continuously improve processes and systems
Approve contract termination for Community Charter School of Excellence
Jenna Hodgens, General Director of Charter Schools, (813) 272-4733
Dr. Cinzia DeLange, Supervisor of Charter Schools, (813) 272-4049
Community Charter School of Excellence received approximately $1,660,721.22 through the Florida Education Finance Program funding for the 2019/2020 school year. They also received $159,303 in capital outlay funds. The funds generated for these students next year will be received by the school they will attend.
There will be no review as the school is closing.