A unanimous vote on charter schools by the state Board of Education last week could hinder Duval Schools’ efforts to save money through closing under-enrolled schools.
Districts must now let certain charter schools — termed “Schools of Hope” — move into vacant or underutilized district buildings for free — and in some cases, they must provide facility-related services like custodial, maintenance, food service and transportation if the school requests they do so.
The vote gave teeth to legislation Florida lawmakers passed this year meant to expand the reach of Schools of Hope, a special category of publicly funded, privately operated charter schools that provide another option for families zoned for traditional public schools that persistently underperform…