Somerset Academy’s Board of Directors approved on Oct. 14 to open a private school on the University of West Florida campus in January 2026, according to board minutes.
Diaz Version: The president-elect told the UWF Board of Trustees, “We had conversations with those folks and reached an understanding of a shared use agreement for a private non-tuition school to start as a pilot on the campus.”
- He added that the school has philanthropic funding, and UWF faculty, students, and staff would not be charged tuition. “You probably have space for about 40, 45 students that would be filled by the kids of our faculty, staff, and students, because the demand is there.”
Somerset Version
Its board minutes make no mention of the school being only for UWF faculty, students and staff. There is no mention of being a pilot only.
The Somerset University Preparatory Academy would offer grants starting in January in place of the voucher, and vouchers would be accepted beginning in the Fall. Read Somerset Minutes.
The license agreement was signed three weeks later, but was not presented at the UWF Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 13, even though the Finance, Facilities, and Operations Committee Meeting was held at that time.
- The Somerset Academy’s Board of Directors is more transparent than President-elect Manny Diaz.
More Background
Dig Deeper: On Sept. 19, Interim President Manny Diaz announced he was exploring the establishment of a tuition-free K-3 school. At a public forum on Dec. 10, Diaz said that nothing was final about the school; however, we now know the license agreement was signed on Nov. 3.
Dig Even Deeper: Somerset Academy is a large Florida-based charter school network that began in 1997 with a small K–5 charter school in Miramar. Somerset operates several dozen charter schools, with a heavy presence in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and additional campuses in Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Duval, Jefferson County, and the Florida Keys.
- Manny Díaz Jr. has indirect but significant connections to Somerset Academy through his long-standing ties to Academica and Doral College, which work closely with the Somerset network. From 2013 to 2022, Diaz worked as chief operating officer at Doral College, which was created in 2010 to offer advanced courses at charter schools, including Somerset Academy schools, and Doral College offers dual-enrollment courses on Somerset campuses.
- Somerset University Preparatory Academy’s principal, Lourdes Isla, is a former Doral College Dean of Students.
Mystery Tour
In early September, Diaz toured a rather strange group around the campus and Building 86, home to the College of Education and Professional Studies. The group was “women wearing dresses below their knees and men in black.”
- The school idea apparently started with a charter school company seeking to rent a UWF property across from the Argo Village, but the idea changed to putting the school on campus, with the goal of launching it in January 2026 with 50 students.
Our reporting and Diaz’s unwillingness to let any bad news interfere with his approval most likely derailed the January start plans.
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