Taxpayer money wasted on private property when charter schools close
The state lost as much as $150,000 in taxpayer money it invested in two Treasure Coast charter schools that lasted less than eight years.
That money was intended to help pay for rent, renovations and equipment for the now-closed Indian River Academy Charter School and Dizzy Gillespie School of the Fine & Performing Arts in Martin County.
The state and school districts can recover buses, computers and other equipment bought with state funds, but money spent on renting and renovating private property stays in private pockets.
This is symptomatic of a statewide problem. Florida invested more than $70 million in charter schools that closed, according to an AP investigation.
Though conditions for obtaining the money are stricter today, the controversy continues. Of the 10 existing Treasure Coast charter schools that have received $15.2 million from the Department of Education's Charter School Capital Outlay fund since 1999, six are on private property, according to tax records.
Gillespie and the Academy — not to be confused with today's Indian River Charter High School or the renamed Highlands Elementary, Indian River Academy — are the only local charter schools that closed after receiving the state money. Orange Avenue Charter School and The Charter School of Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County closed in 1999 and 2009 respectively, but did not receive these state funds.
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WHO BENEFITTED?
It's difficult to determine how Gillespie and the Academy spent the money because school districts can toss budget documents after seven years. Because Gillespie closed in 2001 and the Academy closed in 2005, the only way to know how the schools spent the money is to talk to officials who were there at the time.
Former Principal Joe Flanagan remembers Gillespie erecting new walls, painting the rented building and installing new wiring, but it's not clear whether the money came from the state, or somewhere else. Gillespie spent $82,718 on building repairs during its first school year, but that was before the school received the state funding, according to an expense statement.
Then-property owner Anna Chason wouldn't comment on the building improvements, as her late husband Vernon Chason was in charge of the company that owned the property when Gillespie was a tenant.
The Academy was in a private building on public land owned by the Vero Beach Regional Airport. No one Treasure Coast Newspapers interviewed knew how the school spent the money.
The airport property's taxable value has increased from $1.2 million to $2.1 million since 2002, but it's difficult to determine whether taxpayer money played any role because the commercial plaza has dozens of tenants in four buildings, each with multiple spaces. Airport Director Ericson Menger said he thinks the school improvements likely added to the property's value.
FEWER STUDENTS, LESS MONEY
Both elementary schools targeted different populations and closed for the same
