Clay County Schools Superintendent David Broskie used his remarks during a December 11 school board meeting to clarify misconceptions about charter school co-location and voice concerns about the growing cost of school vouchers to the district.
Broskie said he wanted to address comments made during the public comment portion of the meeting, particularly regarding co-location—when a charter school takes over available space within an existing school building.
State law allows charter schools of hope to co-locate at any public school with available space.
“The problem with co-location, the way the law is currently written, is that it could be part of a school, partial school, but the cost to run the school is incumbent upon the school district if that were to happen,” Broskie said.
He painted a stark picture of what that means financially.
“Imagine a School of Hope taking over half a school, and we would have to pay for the custodians on the other half of the school, for the electricity on the other half, the cafeteria for those students, like the whole thing,” the superintendent said. “So, the issue really that’s not being told to the public is simply that co-location, the cost of co-location goes onto the school district, not onto the school of hope.”
Broskie said Clay County’s utilization rate is very high—over 85 percent in all schools—which doesn’t make the district a target like 26 other districts across the state. He said approximately 650 letters went out statewide, representing schools of hope attempting to take over 650 different schools.
Vouchers costing district $30 million
On the topic of school vouchers, Broskie said the issue isn’t about school choice but about public funding going to private schools.
“I say proudly that I went to Catholic school through eighth grade and then went to public high school. There are 10 in my family. All 10 of us went to the same Catholic school,” Broskie said. “The issue is not the ability to have choice. The issue really is to use public funds in order to pay for private schools.”
In Clay County, that amount is just shy of $30 million and growing.
“So that’s really a big issue,” the superintendent said.
Mental health focus, family engagement
Moving to district achievements, Broskie recognized Bannerman Learning Center and Lake Asbury Junior High as schools of the month.
“Bannerman Learning Center does an amazing job under very difficult circumstances, and so does Lake Asbury Junior,” he said.
The superintendent highlighted work by the student advisory council, which has about 45 students from all secondary schools. Their focus this year is mental health.
“Mental health for young people is a real thing,” Broskie said. “For those of you that don’t realize that it is the increase of social media and the need, I thought a student was going to bug out when I said to her, I said, why do you care what other people think about you online?”
He said for adults it’s easy to shrug off what others think, but for young people it’s much harder.
“It’s a big issue,” he said.
Broskie also emphasized the importance of family engagement, noting that parents have their students 86 percent of the time while schools only have them 14 percent of the time.
“We’ve got to engage parents. Parents need to do their part. Yes, there are parents’ rights, but there are also parents’ responsibilities,” the superintendent said.
Community partnerships, student achievements
Broskie announced a $30,000 STEAM grant to Lake Asbury Junior High from National Gypsum through the Clay Education Foundation.
“We also need the business partners to rise up,” he said.
He also celebrated Clay County students dominating a Boys and Girls Club competition with 22 teams from different districts. Three out of four winners were from Clay County: Orange Park Junior High, Keystone Heights Elementary, and Wilkinson Junior High.
“Anytime we can beat others, I’m happy,” Broskie said with a laugh. “I hate to say that I didn’t mean it that way, but you guys in a competitive way for students of course.”
Call for unity
Broskie reminded everyone that the last day of the second semester is December 19, with Christmas break running from December 22 through January 1. Teacher planning day is January 2, in-service day is January 5, and students return to campus January 6.
Closing his remarks, the superintendent acknowledged comments from earlier in the meeting about healing and unity.
“I did hear some talk about healing, uniting, and moving forward,” Broskie said. “I recognize, I think we all recognize, we hear you in other words, but healing requires trust in both ways, and so I appreciate that, and I hope everybody has a great holiday and a great break.”
