School Board Denies Charter School

A charter school for Hernando County's dropouts was shot down by the school board Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously to deny the application by Mavericks in Education D. Wade's School, a Fort Lauderdale-based firm that seeks to attract students aged 15 to 21 who have left the school system.

Board members weren't convinced by additional information Mavericks officials provided to the district last week. The company brought a more detailed budget plan for the school and the results of a phone survey that CEO Mark Thimmig said shows there is a demand for the school here.

But board members agreed with a district review committee that had recommended denial of the proposal.

The committee wasn't convinced the school would attract enough students to bring adequate state dollars. As with other charter schools, this one would be overseen by a governing board, with a private firm running the day-to-day operations.

Mavericks had projected it would attract some 350 students. District officials concluded the school would be lucky to see half that amount.