09-13-2001 Public Hearing•
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MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE
PUBLIC HEARING
The Miami Shores Village Council held a Public Hearing on Thursday, September 13, 2001 at the
Community Center. All Council Members, as well as Tom Benton, Village Manager, Richard Sarafan,
Village Attorney, and Barbara Fugazzi, Village Clerk were present. The purpose of the meeting was to
hear comments from residents regarding the possibility of a charter high school. The meeting was called
to order at 7:30 PM, with a moment of silence observed for the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks.
Mayor Davis asked if the Council would like to make opening remarks. Mr. Ullman provided the
audience with an overview of the progress of the Village with respect to the charter high school. He
provided a time -line of the various meetings and submittals which have taken place. Mr. Ullman
expressed his belief that there are two questions to be answered: 1) Should the Village proceed with a
charter application? And 2) If yes, should the current proposal be utilized? Individual Council Members
offered brief comments regarding their views on the issue.
Mr. Tom Benton indicated that Senator Kendrick Meek was expected to be in attendance but was not
present at the time. Mr. Benton then introduced Kathy Wilbur from Creative Land Development
Services, the Village's consultant regarding the charter school issue.
Mr. Benton introduced Isabella Berio, a representative from Chancellor Academies, who provided the
audience with information regarding Chancellor Academies and their proposal. She stated that the
largest issue that will need to be dealt with is space constraints. Ms. Berio spoke about the fact that the
school will need to utilize Village facilities, i.e. the Library, the Community Center, the Aquatics Facility
and Country Club. Ms. Berio provided broad information about the type of curriculum which would be
offered at the school. Ms. Berio further indicated that if the Village holds the Charter for the school,
Village residents will have first priority regarding admittance.
Following a discussion regarding the procedures to be followed, Mayor Davis opened the
floor for Public Comment.
Kathy Martin
Spero Canton
Mr. Enberg
Dion Senna
Jackie Ruiz
Rebecca Wyatt
Ms. Martin spoke about her concerns with a charter school and indicated that she
was against the idea.
Mr. Canton stated that the Village should invest in the school and endorse the
proposal from Chancellor Academies.
Mr. Enberg talked about not having a choice when his children were in school.
He stated that the Village needs a high school.
Mr. Senna stated that he has four children and feels that the Village would be
remiss if the school was not encouraged.
Ms. Ruiz expressed her belief that the attendance is not representative of the
number of people in favor of the school.
Ms. Wyatt spoke of the commuting time for her children to get to school and
stated that she is in favor of a charter school.
• Gabriella Ms. Cora-Locatelli stated that she was in favor of the schools, but would
Cora-Locatelli probably continue to send her children to private schools. She stated that she
had concerns regarding the locations for the classrooms.
Betty Lasch Ms. Lasch stated that as a realtor, she would welcome the choice given to new
homeowners.
Fortuna Smuckler
Stated that she is not a resident, but she is a business property owner with an
office on Park Drive. She expressed her concerns about a high school being
situated so close to the business with respect to parking and having 500 high
school age students hanging around.
John Moore Mr. Moore said that he hoped a school could be opened and that the parking
issues can be overcome. He stated that nothing ventured is nothing gained.
Nancy Post Ms. Post expressed her support of the idea as she has three adopted children.
Cheryl Sell Ms. Sell indicated that a charter high school would give her family a reason to
stay in the Shores.
Mark Sell
Susie Lawson
• David Walker
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Tim Crutchfield
Cesar Sastre
Kendrick Meek
Marie Augustine
Ron Temkin
Mr. Sell expressed his support of the school.
Ms. Lawson said that she is supportive of a school.
Mr. Walker indicated that he was the Chair of the Chamber's Board that had
reviewed the issue and that there are no guaranties in anything.
Mr. Crutchfield stated his belief that the Village has the opportunity to respond
to this very important question.
Mr. Sastre spoke about his support of the school concept but that he has many
concerns. He asked that the Council go slow and do it right.
Senator Meek spoke about some of the available resources available to the
Village.
Ms. Augustine stated that she was an educator but that she was moving out of the
Village due to the lack of higher education choices.
Mr. Temkin stated that he did not disagree with the concept of the school but
believes that it would be irresponsible of the Village to undertake such a large
project without careful study and research. Also believes that an RFP should be
completed. Mr. Temkin spoke about accreditation issues, demographics and
zoning problems.
Barbara Quinaz Ms. Quinaz expressed her belief that the school could be a great thing.
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Oscar Rizzo
T.F. Chambers
Ed Quinton
Mr. Rizzo stated that he thought the Village should wait until 2003, as the delay
will allow for extra time to research the issues.
Mr. Chambers said that he was in favor of the school.
Mr. Quinton stated that the most difficult issue for the Task Force was to try and
figure out how many students would likely attend the charter high school. He
suggested further research.
John Pattavina Mr. Pattavina stated that he was supportive of the school.
Steve Hagen Mr. Hagen stated that he is a resident of Belle Meade and that that community
would probably be in favor of the school.
Barry Levinson Mr. Levinson stated that he had just purchased property on Grand Concourse.
He expressed his concerns about 600 high school students being in the
community.
Joan Viscount
John Beaubrun
Jim McCoy Mr. McCoy, President of the Chamber, spoke about the issues the Chamber
looked at while evaluating the charter high school.
Ms. Viscount stated her concerns about the use of the recreation fields and stated
her belief that property values will go down.
Mr. Beaubrun stated that it would be Shores students using the facilities rather
than non-residents.
As there was no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Davis closed public comment. During the course of
the public comment segment, the following questions were asked and subsequently answered by either
Chancellor Academies or the Village's consultant, Kathy Wilbur:
Average class size:
Arts & Music program to be offered:
College preparatory programs:
College placement assistance:
Chancellor Academies experience:
Will the high school start with 4 grades:
What controls will be instituted regarding
loitering, drug use and speeding cars:
Is the concept feasible:
25 students.
Yes
Yes
Yes
New company formed as Chancellor. However,
principals in the company have extensive experience in
public education/administration.
Proposal is to start with grades 9 and 10 and then grow
and open grades 11 and 12 as under -classes move into
the higher grades.
The controls will be outlined in the application.
Ms. Wilbur responded to this questions, answering that
she is in favor of charter schools in general. She
believes that they are a valuable tool in the educational
system. She cautioned the Council to know the fmancial
risks involved in any proposal put before them.
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• Kendrick Meek Senator Meek once again spoke about the State's support.
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Mayor Davis asked for Council Comments:
Prospero Herrera Mr. Herrera thanked the public for their participation and stated that the Village
had the opportunity to make a difference.
Bob Blum
Mr. Blum admitted his bias on the charter high school project. He spoke of the
issues to be resolved (parking, sports activities, etc) but stated that the Village is
talking about an application to open in 2003.
Mark Ulmer Mr. Ulmer thanked everyone for their attendance.
Greg Ullman Mr. Ullman thanked the residents for coming to the meeting. He talked about
hearing about the educational problems when campaigning. He stated that
perhaps better suited physical facilities can be located for housing the school but
that it is incumbent upon the Council to do it right.
Mayor Davis Thanked the audience.
A discussion on when to hold the scheduled Council Workshop was held. It was the consensus of the
Council to conduct the Workshop meeting in conjunction with the Regular Council Meeting on Tuesday,
September
9) ADJOURNMENT
The September 13, 2001 Public Hearing was adjourned at 9:30 PM.
Barbara A. Fugaz7i, CMC - Village Clerk