Florida threatens 50 private schools with loss of voucher funds

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Florida threatens 50 private schools with loss of voucher funds

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By Karla D. Shores

Education Writer

December 24, 2003

The state announced Tuesday it will pull about $1.2 million in voucher funding

next year from 50 private schools, including 16 in South Florida, if those

schools don't comply with a new online application by mid-January.

The effort, launched in late September, is the state's latest push to more

closely monitor a growing number of voucher schools and an answer to a scathing

audit from the state's finance chief that at least one of the state's voucher

programs could allow " potential abuse or criminal activity.''

Florida's vouchers target students attending failing schools and students with

disabilities who feel they are not being served in public schools.

" We're raising the bar for the schools, " said Theresa Klebacha, executive

director of independent education and parental choice for the Department of

Education. " We have to ensure private schools are compliant with the law in

order to receive state funding. "

The measure is one of many steps the state will take to answer a recent audit by

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, which found that some voucher students

were dipping from more than one voucher program, and some private schools may

have received funds for students they do not have.

The 50 schools are an addition to 21 schools the district suspended earlier

because they did not turn in their application forms. The most recent funding

cuts would affect about 830 students statewide, including about 260 in South

Florida, as of a Dec. 19 count, Klebacha said.

Among the schools are Calvary Christian Academy, which is run by Calvary Chapel

in Broward County; Academic High School, of Palm Beach County, and Heritage

Schools of Florida, in Miami-Dade County, which is under investigation by the

Department of Education for funding concerns in a separate matter, Klebacha

said. That school has since closed, but Klebacha is working with parents to make

sure the students are placed at another school.

Of Florida's 2,000 private schools, about 1,163 participate in one or all of the

state's three voucher programs: The Opportunity Scholarships, McKay Program for

students with disabilities, and corporate tax credit scholarships. Most of the

50 noncompliant schools use the latter two voucher programs.

The 16 South Florida schools are in danger of losing about $253,000 in McKay

scholarships and about $120,000 in corporate tax credit scholarships, according

to the state's quarterly report last month.

Klebacha said the setback is technical for many schools on the list. The form

takes about 30 minutes to complete and merely asks schools if they have

documentation for health and fire inspections, fingerprinting, radon testing,

scoliosis tests for seventh-graders, worker's and unemployment compensation,

immunizations, food service inspections and other requirements.

The 50 schools will continue to receive funding if they complete their forms

satisfactorily by mid-January, when the second tier of funding goes out to

schools receiving vouchers.

Some school operators did not know by Tuesday evening that their schools could

lose funding.

Marjorie Baker, spokeswoman for Academic High School near Boca Raton, said

Klasfeld's 40-student school, received from $55,000 to $75,000 in McKay

scholarship funding last year. She said she is not worried about losing voucher

funding because the school is on the list simply because she didn't know how to

fill out part of the form. Baker said she planned to correct the form by today.

" I think it's good that there is some type of uniformity as far as what they're

looking for from private schools, " Baker said.

But if any of the 50 schools have not completed their forms by May 1, the state

will drop them from participation in voucher programs for the 2004-2005 school

year, Klebacha said.

The number of schools is half the 100 schools Horne announced during a State

Board of Education meeting at Nova Southeastern University last week. That

number was based on a preliminary count, Klebacha explained.

During the past week, 37 schools that would have been marked noncompliant were

able to show they are " substantively " compliant with state guidelines, Klebacha

said. The Department of Education received further documentation from

third-party agencies verifying that checks had been made, she said.

Klebacha said she is not as concerned about the 50 noncompliant schools because

they have time to fix their problems and because the compliance process is new

this year.

Voucher and public school proponents tended to have a half-empty, half-full take

on the report.

" This should be very reassuring to everybody, that now we know 95 percent of our

private schools are compliant, " Lasher said. " And the small 5 percent

that is not are all minor issues. We're very confident all schools will be

compliant before tuition is paid in February. "

But others say the list of 50 noncompliant schools demonstrates how vouchers sap

funding from the public education system.

" We certified schools that shouldn't have been certified, " said state Rep.

L. Greenstein, D-Coconut Creek. " [The state] is doing this because of the

schools that got caught. "

Greenstein was referring to scrutiny of the corporate tax credit program in

July, when the state learned the Islamic Academy of Florida in Tampa, which used

the voucher program, was affiliated with a man accused of having terrorist ties.

Education Commissioner Jim Horne said the state immediately pulled funding from

the school during an investigation, but later found the school was not using

voucher money to fund programs linked to terrorism.

Klebacha said the new compliance plan is solid and would not give schools room

to fudge their records.

In January the state will ask a sample of the 1,163 voucher schools to send in

their documentation for physical proof they are compliant, Klebacha said.

Karla Shores can be reached at kshores@... or .

Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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