By Tom St. Myer
Negotiations between Escambia County Public Schools and Charter Schools USA will determine the fate of Warrington Middle School.
The for-profit charter agency sent representatives to meet with school officials and tour the Warrington campus on Monday and Tuesday to better gauge which services will be required and what the cost to the school district. Superintendent Tim Smith described the meetings as “very productive” and left feeling better about possibly reaching a deal with Charter Schools USA.
Next up is negotiating a consulting agreement and that requires approval from the school board. Smith said Charter Schools USA usually requests $15,000 a month just for consulting fees.
Time is running out on the school district to secure a charter agency. The Florida State Board of Education ordered that Warrington transition to a charter school by the 2023-24 school year and that a charter agency submit an application by no later than January. The order came after Warrington earned a D this past school for its ninth consecutive grade of a D or F.
Smith said the school district sent information about Warrington through the charter school portal and only Charter Schools USA expressed interest.
School board member Paul Fetsko (District 2) is concerned about the amount of money the charter agency will request for its services, but Smith said, “There are two options on the table. It’s Charter Schools USA or closure.”
Darreyel Laster, who serves as dean at Warrington, offered his own charter services during a school board meeting last month, but Smith said state statute requires a school to operate under a charter organization with a proven track record.
Warrington is built for 1,200 students, but its enrollment is fewer than 600 this school year. Fetsko understands why other charter agencies passed on operating a middle school that is losing its best students at a rapid rate. He said the parents of over 700 students who live in the Warrington school zone took advantage of school choice legislation and opted to send their children to different middle schools.