Mavericks Backers Prepare For Appeal

The school board said no, but backers of a charter school for the county's dropouts will appeal to a higher authority.

The governing board of the proposed Mavericks D. Wade High School is gearing up to appeal the school board's unanimous decision last Tuesday to deny the application, governing board member Patricia Colbert said.

"This is too important to those kids," Colbert said.

Mavericks in Education is a private firm based in Fort Lauderdale that would use public money to run the school with the guidance of a volunteer governing board.

School 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.

Board members, however, agreed with a district review committee that had recommended denial of the proposal. The committee praised the school's curriculum for dropouts aged 15 to 21 but wasn't convinced the school would attract enough students to bring adequate state dollars.

Thimmig said those issues can be overcome.

"What happened (Tuesday) was a missed opportunity, but not a lost opportunity," Thimmig said Friday. "I really am surprised we did not receive an overwhelming approval, but we will in fact work with the governing board to make sure an independent and objective review occurs at the state level."

The school district must notify Mavericks officially by letter that the application has been denied. Mavericks then has 30 days to file an appeal with the state's Charter Schools Appeals Commission. The commission holds a formal hearing and makes a ruling.

If that commission denies the application, Mavericks can appeal to the state education board.

Thimmig said he's confident the commission will see the value in the application. The goal is to open the school in August.

School Superintendent Wayne Alexander had recommended the board approve the application with reservations and negotiate specific terms without having to go through the appeals process.

"It definitely changes the flavor" of the relationship with the charter school board, Alexander said.

Avoiding state involvement would have been ideal, said David Schoelles, the district's curriculum specialist and a member of the charter school review committee.

However, if Mavericks' appeal is successful it will trigger negotiations over the school's charter - including specifics on how public money will be applied and overseen - that would have happened anyway, Schoelles said.

"That's where those concerns can be addressed," Schoelles said.

Good things can come with a rocky start, Schoelles said. He pointed out that Gulf Coast Academy, the county's first charter school, was born from an appeal and has worked well.

"We developed a wonderful working relationship with them, and I see no reason why we can't establish the same kind of relationship with this governing board," he said.